Abstract
The democratic principle of the State is projected on each and every one of the territorial entities to which the 1978 Constitution recognize autonomy: Autonomous Communities and local entities. All of them reproduced the state model with a clear preference for representative democracy and few concessions to the instruments of direct citizen participation. The situation has changed substantially during the first decade of this 21st century. The demands for greater autonomy have been accompanied, especially in the Autonomous Communities, by a significant increase in citizen participation mechanisms. All of this makes it possible to identify a particular model of democracy in these sub-state entities that fits naturally with the logic of federalism and the management of pluralism.