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Benequista, N & J, Wheeler
IDS Bulletin, 43 (5)
A review of case studies from a global, ten-year research project coordinated by the Institute of Development Studies...
A review of case studies from a global, ten-year research project coordinated by the Institute of Development Studies suggests that previous efforts to understand the value of research for promoting social change has underappreciated the contribution of researchers as social actors. Researchers inhabit a complex web of relations, they hold many identities, and they act politically to bring about social change in ways large and small that go beyond what they write in journals or in policy briefs. Through interviews and self- reflection, we explored some of these ways – formal and informal, direct and indirect – that researchers communicate their knowledge. To capture some of the diversity, this article presents a typology of different ‘roles’ that researchers play as communicators. We hope this typology might help to clarify our understanding of research utilisation, and might also provide insight into how to approach research communication in more strategic ways.
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Coelho, VSP, Thompson, L & R, Mohanty
IDS Working Paper, Number 359
Democracy is considered the common âcurrencyâ of state and civil society interaction in middle-economic-power sta...
Democracy is considered the common âcurrencyâ of state and civil society interaction in middle-economic-power states such as India, Brazil and South Africa. In fact the IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa) link, as it is understood in international relations, is premised upon certain political and economic similarities between these three states in the South, not least their democratic political foundations.1 In this paper we are looking at the IBSA states from a citizen-centric point of view, embarking upon a comparative analysis of how states deal with citizens' demands from within. Given the broad similarities of democratic political structures, the emerging economies that make the three states middle-income and the persistent socioeconomic inequalities in these countries, such an analysis of society-state relationships in the IBSA countries will have value for understanding how democracies can be deepened in order to make states responsive to citizensâ demands. This paper consolidates and synthesises the insights from an international research project that has investigated citizen participation and the deepening of democratic processes in the southern countries, including the IBSA countries. The aim of this synthesis paper is to revisit the research findings from this project to explore the interaction between mobilisation and the state as they continue to respond, influence and reconstitute each other in the three formal democracies under study in India, Brazil and South Africa.
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von Lieres, B & L , Piper
IDS Working Paper, Number 364
This paper looks to explore and interrogate an important component of successful public participation cases which we ...
This paper looks to explore and interrogate an important component of successful public participation cases which we term âdemocratic mediationâ. It is argued that, around the world, the practice of âdemocratic mediationâ is an increasingly common phenomenon in forms of engagement between citizens and public authority, which includes, but is not limited to the state as neo-liberal globalisation intersects with democratisation. This claim emerges from an analysis of a significant number of Citizenship Development Research Centre (CDRC) case-studies on recent forms of citizen participation in the global south. Further, despite some important differences, these forms of mediation share a common feature of activism by a relatively elite third party for the inclusion of the interests of marginalised groups in formal decision-making.
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Summary of Findings from a Decade of Collaborative Research on Citizen Engagement, Brighton: Citizenship DRC
This document is intended as a summary of and reference guide to the Citizenship DRCâs work. Though it is not compr...
This document is intended as a summary of and reference guide to the Citizenship DRCâs work. Though it is not comprehensive, the aim of the document is to highlight the major findings whilst signposting the original research. For readers who wish to reference these ideas in future publications, it is preferable, where possible, to cite the original Citizenship DRC research. In instances where this document must be cited directly, please list the author as the Citizenship DRC. The document has been compiled by Nicholas Benequista with major contributions by John Gaventa.
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Mahmud, S & C, Nyamu-Musembi
Citizenship DRC Synthesis Paper - Draft
This article assesses the impact that social mobilization/political empowerment initiatives led by NGOs have had on ...
This article assesses the impact that social mobilization/political empowerment initiatives led by NGOs have had on the gender dynamics of every-day expression of citizenship at community level in Kenya and Bangladesh. Dominant discourses on gender and citizenship have tended to focus on structural constraints on womenâs exercise of citizenship rights, as manifested in laws, policies and design of public institutions. Without denying the reality of these structural constraints, this article seeks to make visible the role of agency in the construction of citizenship: the micro-level day-to-day expressions of citizenship, the influence of NGO-led social mobilization/political empowerment initiatives in cultivating that agency, and the gender dynamics that are implicated in day-to-day expressions of citizenship. This article builds on earlier writings based on two micro-level studies in Kenya and Banglades
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Cornwall, A, Robins, S & B, von Lieres
Citizenship DRC Synthesis Paper - DRAFT
This paper draws on case study research conducted by members of the DFID-funded Citizenship Development Research Cent...
This paper draws on case study research conducted by members of the DFID-funded Citizenship Development Research Centre to explore instantiations of citizenship in different kinds of states, and to reflect what citizen engagement comes to imply in these contexts. Rather than seeking a unified definition of citizenship that covers all dimensions of human action, entitlement and belonging, we are interested in the everyday, and often highly contingent and improvisational, negotiations and performances through which people define and pursue their desires and aspirations. We suggest that an approach that explores diverse meanings and expressions of citizenship in different kinds of states can enrich our understanding of citizenship precisely because it proceeds less from normative claims or abstract ideals than from everyday encounters in particular contexts. Such an approach draws attention to the diverse ways in which particular subject-positions and forms of identification are articulated in the pursuit of concrete social and political projects. We begin by reviewing thinking on democratic citizenship in relation to the global South, and go on from there to dimensions and experiences of citizen engagement in different contexts.
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Leach, M & A, Cornwall
Citizenship DRC Synthesis Paper
Recent debates about citizen involvement in health have given new political currency to the promise of the Alma Ata D...
Recent debates about citizen involvement in health have given new political currency to the promise of the Alma Ata Declaration of 1978, and its emphasis on the role people can play in the design and delivery of primary health care services. This article reflects on some of the emphases and silences in these debates. It draws on a series of case studies of citizen engagement from Bangladesh, Brazil, South Africa and the UK, bringing together work on institutionalised participation and mobilization. To understand how public and citizen involvement shapes health services, this article suggests, closer attention needs to be paid to issues of representation, framing and the politics of identity and knowledge. By exploring the synergies between mobilization and invited participation, the article explores what insights might be gained into the ways people negotiate health citizenship and influence the institutions and decisions that affect such a fundamental dimension of their lives.
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Barrett, G. & Gaventa J
IDS Working Paper Number 347
In this paper, we report on a meta-case study analysis of a ten-year research programme on citizenship, participation...
In this paper, we report on a meta-case study analysis of a ten-year research programme on citizenship, participation and accountability which analysed a non-randomised sample of 100 research studies of four types of citizen engagement in 20 countries. By mapping the observable effects of citizen participation through a close reading of these studies, we created a typology of four democratic and developmental outcomes, including (a) the construction of citizenship, (b) the strengthening of practices of participation, (c) the strengthening of responsive and accountable states, and (d) the development of inclusive and cohesive societies.
We find that citizen participation produces positive effects across these outcome types, though in each category there are also examples of negative outcomes of citizen participation. We also find that these outcomes vary according to the type of citizen engagement and to political context. These findings have important implications for the design of and support for participatory programmes meant to improve state responsiveness and effectiveness.
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Gaventa J
In Alan Fowler and Chiku Malunga (eds), NGO Management: The Earthscan Companion
This paper is drawn from a longer paper given by John Gaventa at a conference of the Development Research Centre on C...
This paper is drawn from a longer paper given by John Gaventa at a conference of the Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability (Citizenship DRC) in 2005. The Citizenship DRC is a network of scholars and practitioners which between 2000 â 2010 carried out an extensive programme on research on rights, participation and accountability, which has produced over 150 case studies in some twenty countries. The case studies and example used in this paper draw largely from this body of work. All of the work, as well as complete versions of most of the cases references cited, may be found at www.drc-citizenship.org, as well as in the eight volume Zed Book series on Claiming Citizenship (http://www.zedbooks.co.uk/citizenship).
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Benequista, N
Conference Paper, The Politics of Poverty, Elites, Citizens and States. 21st-23st June 2010, London
This summary note provides a guide to key findings, especially those that link to contemporary policy debates on how ...
This summary note provides a guide to key findings, especially those that link to contemporary policy debates on how citizen participation and engagement can contribute to development, strengthen democratic and responsive states, and help to realise human rights. For each message, reference is made to key documents that support these findings and articulate them in more detail.
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Castello, G, A, Gurza Lavalle & R, Mirandola Bichir
IDS Working Paper 299
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PRIA Journal Vol 1 No 1
This document is not currently available
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Cornwall, A
London: Demos
In the UK, getting citizens more involved in different aspects of governance has become an important part of reinvigo...
In the UK, getting citizens more involved in different aspects of governance has become an important part of reinvigorating democracy. The UK government has recently put in place legislation that makes public involvement a statutory duty. In doing so, the UK falls in line with a growing number of countries around the world that have established legal frameworks for citizen participation. And in the last decade, weâve seen growing political commitment at the highest levels to giving citizens more of a voice in the decisions that affect their lives, and to engaging citizens in making government more responsive and accountable. But the UK has a long way still to go in making this promise a reality.
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Dunn, A & Gaventa J
ID21 Focus, July
Many citizens are disillusioned with government and democracy. Corruption, state failures to respond to poor peopleâ...
Many citizens are disillusioned with government and democracy. Corruption, state failures to respond to poor peopleâs needs and a lack of connection between citizens and elected representatives and bureaucrats are major concerns.At the same time, citizens are challenging corporations and global institutions to be more responsible. This four-page policy briefing draws upon the Citizenship DRC's research to look at how policy can help address these issues.
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Gaventa J
In R Mohanty & R Tandon (eds) Participatory Citizenship: Identity, Exclusion and Inclusion. New Delhi: Sage Press
This document is not currently available
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Eyben, R & S, Ladbury
Citizenship DRC Report
Target readers for this publication are those concerned with the policies and practice of international aid. Increasi...
Target readers for this publication are those concerned with the policies and practice of international aid. Increasingly donors have picked up the challenge of building effective states as critical for effective aid that reduces poverty and helps achieve the Millennium Development Goals. From a perspective that understands an effective state as one that is inclusive, democratic and just, this publicationâs specific response to that challenge is through presenting country-based findings from the first phase of work (2001-2005) of members of the Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability (DRC) that are most relevant to debates about effective state building and by offering some policy messages. At the same time, by âtaking a citizenâs perspectiveâ the paper complements the research of another Development Research Centre that is working on the Future State.
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Eyben, R & S, Ladbury
Citizenship DRC Policy Briefing, June
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Tandon, R & R, Mohanty
In Community Development Journal, Vol. 42 (3), New Delhi: Sage Press
Representative, deliberative or participatory democracy? What form of government, or governance, is most suited to th...
Representative, deliberative or participatory democracy? What form of government, or governance, is most suited to the challenges faced by individual citizens, communities and nation states in the globalized economies of the 21st Century? Mohanty and Tandon stress the importance of addressing these issues at a number of levels, drawing on theoretical and practice perspectives within the context of the Indian sub-continent â whilst being mindful throughout that the emerging lessons, debates and thinking presented by contributors to âParticipatory Citizenshipâ have a much wider relevance.
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Piron, LH
IDS Bulletin, 36(1)
Are rights-based approaches no more than a metaphor, or do they point to a consensus around a set of desirable change...
Are rights-based approaches no more than a metaphor, or do they point to a consensus around a set of desirable changes in the policies, programmes and behaviour of aid agencies? This article reviews the apparition of rights-based approaches in bilateral development aid agencies in recent years, which it distinguishes from rhetorical commitments to human rights or human rights mainstreaming. Rights-based approaches are meant to be transformative of how aid is conceptualised and delivered. While there have been differences in emphasis in the approaches adopted by some agencies, this article shows that a common core can be identified and some transformations are under way. However, much remains to be done to influence not just the behaviour of individual agencies, but the international consensus on aid and the place of human rights within it.
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Wheeler, J & J, Petit
IDS Bulletin, 36(1)
As increasing attention is focused on rights-based approaches, there is the danger that a rights-based agenda will be...
As increasing attention is focused on rights-based approaches, there is the danger that a rights-based agenda will become narrowed into a top-down, donor-led trend. on the other hand, much of the current focus on right-based approaches derives from struggles for rights that are rooted both historically and contextually in experiences of exclusion and marginalisation, and have the capacity to contribute positively to change. This article highlights some of the key lessons about using rights effectively. First, important historical and geopolitical forces are behind the timing and framing of the rights-based discourse, which bear careful examination. Second, the contexts of actual struggles are crucial to understanding how rights become substantive. Third, the process of making rights real is a political one, rather than a technical or procedural one, because it entails confronting the structural inequalities that underlie the negotiation of rights. Understanding how rights can shift power relations is essential to realising the potential of rights to contribute to change. Finally, a rights perspective, when understood within particular contexts and linked to strategies to shift power relations, has the potential to confront some of the most prominent assumptions of development orthodoxy and emerging agendas of security.
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Nyamu-Musembi, C
Developing Rights?, IDS Bulletin, 36(1)
While international efforts to tackle poverty and social exclusion increasingly focus on issues of rights and citizen...
While international efforts to tackle poverty and social exclusion increasingly focus on issues of rights and citizenship, the gap between poor people and the institutions charged with protecting their rights has widened. In addition, there is a gap between the way in which rights are framed in actual struggles informed by peopleÃs own understanding of what they are entitled to and in dominant discourses about rights. Looking for the meaning of rights from the perspective of those claiming them pushes the boundaries of conventional human rights debates and expands the range of claims that can be validated as rights. This article draws out these ìactor-orientedî perspectives through a discussion of three key debates that have preoccupied human rights scholars and practitioners, challenging many of the assumptions that underlie them.
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Navarro, Z
IDS Bulletin, 36(1)
This article discusses the idea that the transformation of rights as forms of discourse into social practices is a po...
This article discusses the idea that the transformation of rights as forms of discourse into social practices is a political process more complex than empirical evidence suggests. Based on the case of the Landless Movement in Brazil, the article explores the idea that some apparent forms of rights embedded in conventional demands must be seen under the light of historical contexts and social characteristics of those social actors demanding them. In addition, the very idea of rights is sometimes only the superficial part of a deeper array of tensions and contradictions.
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Okwori, JZ & OS, Abah
In N Kabeer (ed.) Inclusive Citizenship: Meanings and Expressions. London: Zed.
Due to copyright restrictions, we can only share the first three pages of this chapter online.
Due to copyright restrictions, we can only share the first three pages of this chapter online.
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Williams, E
IDS Bulletin, 36(1)
While the 1990 Convention on the Rights of the Child gives children the right to express their views in matters that ...
While the 1990 Convention on the Rights of the Child gives children the right to express their views in matters that affect them, there is little evidence to date on whether or not children and young people can practically influence policy. This article looks at the ways in which their participation might be said to have influenced policy relating to childhood poverty. It draws on a case study concerning working children in India to track the change in outlook on the part of national and local authorities, from a perception of children and young people as passive recipients of services to a recognition of the value of their active participation. The article concludes that the realisation of childrenÃs rights requires expanding and strengthening successful areas of interaction, while building adult support for childrenÃs rights and encouraging an institutional willingness to recognise their voices.
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Cornwall, A & C, Nyamu-Musembi
IDS Bulletin, 36(1)
This article seeks to explore some of the trends that have led to the emergence of todays interest in human rights. T...
This article seeks to explore some of the trends that have led to the emergence of todays interest in human rights. The grounding of rights-based approaches in human rights legislation, some would argue, makes them distinctively different to others, lending the promise of re-politicising areas of development work, particularly, perhaps, efforts to enhance participation in development that have become domesticated as they have been mainstreamed. But the label rights-based approach, other would point out, is fast becoming the latest designer item to be seen wearing and is being used to dress up the same old development issues. We ask why rights has come to be of interest to international development actors, and why now, and explore some of the implications of the shift to thinking and talking about rights for the politics and practice of development.
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Pereira, Jr A, Romano, J & M, Atunes
IDS Bulletin, 36(1)
ìParticipationî, ìRightsî and ìPower Relationsî are operated by Brazilian NGOs and social movements as articula...
ìParticipationî, ìRightsî and ìPower Relationsî are operated by Brazilian NGOs and social movements as articulated and indissoluble dimensions of the same political process of fight for citizenship. Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have been playing a key role in the building of a more democratic governance system in Brazil. After two decades of intense advocacy work in participatory arenas for influencing the decision making of public policies, civil society organisations have developed an interesting critical reflection of the potentials and limits of these spaces of social control: they are arenas for political dispute and not an end in itself in the exercise of citizenship. This debate becomes more complex in relation to the new political context of a (expected to be) left-oriented government, after the election of the new president, from the Labour Party.
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Wheeler, J, Hughes, A & R, Eyben
IDS Bulletin, 36(1)
Many international development agencies have incorporated rights into their policy approaches but the relationship be...
Many international development agencies have incorporated rights into their policy approaches but the relationship between rights and shifting power relations is still rarely addressed. In this article, the authors consider that rights-based approaches should inherently politicise development by inviting power structures to be challenged, from the policy and programme levels to the organisations and individual actors involved and the values, cultures and principles that underpin them. This was the theme of a recent workshop for donor representatives at the Institute of Development Studies. Participants explored meanings and expressions of power and reflected on the significance of these for their own individual and organisational behaviour as powerful development actors. This article discusses key issues emerging from the workshop and the challenges faced by staff when they seek to promote rights-based approaches in their organisations.
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Shetty, S
IDS Bulletin, 36(1)
Much of the current emphasis on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in development abstracts the MDGs from any co...
Much of the current emphasis on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in development abstracts the MDGs from any connection to rights and focuses on the MDGs as technical targets. In fact, not only does a rights-based approach contribute positively to human development and the fulfillment of the MDGs, but a rights-based approach from the outset underlies and frames the MDGs. This article provides examples of how a rights-based approach to implementing the MDGs strengthens their effects in particular contexts. Understanding how the MDGs and rights in development are linked is essential to the lasting impact of the MDGs on reducing poverty and injustice.
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Robins, S
Oxford: James Currey
Post-apartheid South Africa has been characterized by race tensions, social inequalities, and unemployment that are c...
Post-apartheid South Africa has been characterized by race tensions, social inequalities, and unemployment that are contributing to widespread crises. In addressing the transition to democracy, Limits to Liberation examines issues of culture and identity, drawing attention to the creative agency of citizens of the ânewâ South Africa. The writers question the classical western model of citizenship and procedural democracy in the face of the inability of most African states to provide basic needs. Their bold, interdisciplinary inquiry contributes to South African and international scholarship on urban planning, governance, and citizenship.
This document is not currently available
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Petit, J
In IDS Bulletin, 36 (1)
Enthusiasm for ârights-based approachesâ to development has grown during the past decade, taking on diverse meani...
Enthusiasm for ârights-based approachesâ to development has grown during the past decade, taking on diverse meanings within the policies and actions of development agencies, governments and civil society organisations. This ârise of rightsâ has sparked much useful critical reflection about the origins of rights discourses, and what they mean in policy and practice.One of the key concerns, as with all development fashions, is âwhat is really different this time?â Can this emerging focus on rights within the development arena help to bring about real changes in favour of poor and marginalised people? How do we know that ârights-based developmentâ is not just putting new labels on old wine? Given the experience with other development trends, such as the widespread and often contradictory uses of âparticipationâ, this is a valid concern. Why have rights been elevated within the development sector at this time and what does a rights-based approach mean in practice to different actors? How do the generalised directives of aid agencies relate to context-specific struggles for rights, rooted historically in experiences of exclusion and marginalisation? Will formal rights policies, and particularly those pursued within a development framework, strengthen existing efforts to realise rights and inclusion, or is there reason for caution?
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Clark, C, Miller, V & L , VeneKlasen
IDS Bulletin, 36 (1): 31-40
The growing interest in pursuing ìrights-based approaches to developmentî is raising questions about how these two ...
The growing interest in pursuing ìrights-based approaches to developmentî is raising questions about how these two broad traditions ñ human rights and development ñ can best work together in practice. In particular, participatory development approaches seem to have much to contribute to efforts to better define and achieve economic, social and cultural rights. At the same time, human rights perspectives and methods could deepen the impact of many participatory development efforts. In this comparative review of the discourses of major international human rights and development NGOs (largely US-based), it becomes clear that more systematic thinking and dialogue is needed on both fronts, however. There is a need to clarify actual meanings of participation and rights, their relation to notions of power and empowerment, and the ways these can all connect in practice. The development arena could benefit by rediscovering emancipatory and political notions of participation, while the rights domain could become better grounded in peopleÃs daily needs, their struggles for survival and their wishes to participate in decision making. Both the rights and development communities could benefit by deepening their analysis of power and empowerment. A more holistic understanding of these concepts and the links between them would help to bridge the gaps between development, participation, and rights, leading to more effective processes of social change.
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Cornwall, A & C, Nyamu-Musembi
Third World Quarterly, 25(8): 1415-37
This paper seeks to unravel some of the tangled threads of contemporary rights talk. For some, the grounding of right...
This paper seeks to unravel some of the tangled threads of contemporary rights talk. For some, the grounding of rights-based approaches in human rights legislation makes them distinctively
different to others, lending the promise of re-politicising areas of development work - particularly, perhaps, efforts to enhance participation in development, that have become domesticated as they have been 'mainstreamed' by powerful institutions like the World
Bank. Others complain that like other fashions, the label 'rights-based approach' has become the latest designer item to be seen to be wearing, and has been used to dress up the same old development. We pose a series of questions about why rights have come to be of interest to international development actors, and explore the implications of different versions and emphases, looking at what their strengths and shortcomings may come to mean for the politics and practice of development
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Gaventa J
Report, Neighbourhood Renewal Unit, Office of Deputy Prime Minister, July
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Wheeler, J, Hughes, A, Eyben, R & P, Scott-Villiers
Rights and Power Workshop Report. Citizenship DRC: Brighton
This document is not currently available
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Eyben, R
IDS Policy Briefing, Issue 17, March
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Eyben, R
Policy briefing number 17
Cada vez más, las agencias internacionales de desarrollo emplean un lenguaje basado en los derechos. ¿Pero cómo pu...
Cada vez más, las agencias internacionales de desarrollo emplean un lenguaje basado en los derechos. ¿Pero cómo pueden las polÃticas y prácticas de esas agencias apoyar los esfuerzos de las personas por convertir sus derechos en realidad?
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Gaventa J
IDS Bulletin 33(2)
Around the world, a growing crisis of legitimacy characterises the relationship between citizens and the institutions...
Around the world, a growing crisis of legitimacy characterises the relationship between citizens and the institutions that affect their lives. Traditional forms of expertise and representation are being questioned. In the past, there has been a tendency to respond to the gap that exists between citizens and institutions in one of two ways. One the one hand, attention has been paid to strengthening the processes of participation. On the other hand, growing attention has been paid to strengthening the accountability and responsiveness of these institutions and policies through changes in institutional design and a focus on the enabling structures for good governance. Increasingly, however, we are beginning to see the importance of working on both sides of the equation. The articles in this issue of the IDS Bulletin explore three related areas: meanings and expressions of rights and citizenship; concepts and practices of participation, and dimensions of accountability.
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Subrahmanian, R
In IDS Bulletin, 33 (2): 73-82
The progress of the proposed 93rd Constitutional Amendment, which makes elementary education a fundamental right in I...
The progress of the proposed 93rd Constitutional Amendment, which makes elementary education a fundamental right in India, provides an interesting starting point for exploring the challenges of achieving rights in education, in the context of a history of poor provision, and entrenched forms of social and economic exclusion. How can rights to and responsibilities in education be framed and structured to ensure full and meaningful participation in education? In this article, some key issues relating to the challenge of rights are explored, in particular locating this policy development within the context of the rise of private schooling, pre-existing policy approaches and obligations, and the continuing dominance of human capital theory in framing educational discourse in development. In particular, the importance of constructing meaningful spaces for citizen participation in education systems is emphasised in the face of challenges posed by diversity and social exclusion for achieving universal education.
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Mahmud, S
IDS Bulletin 33(2)
New perceptions of citizenship emerging in poor countries of the developing world are identifying a conceptual shift ...
New perceptions of citizenship emerging in poor countries of the developing world are identifying a conceptual shift that emphasizes inclusive citizenship as the exercise of agency and the re-casting of rights by citizens themselves. These perceptions are fuelled by the rights based approach to development, which sees exclusion itself as a denial of rights. Collective action can be a way of materializing rights in poor countries and of realizing this new citizen role. Contemporary collective action in Bangladesh indicates that although the space for citizen action is limited by unequal power sharing in society and fear of anticipated reaction, power hierarchies can themselves be utilized for achieving group objectives. Collective action enables citizen action in claiming rights that have direct bearing upon peoples lived realities, but is less effective in enabling agency in claiming rights that involve conflict of interest. Thus, the process of articulating and claiming rights takes place in a situation of continuing social differentiation where inclusiveness remains an elusive concept.
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Tandon, R
IDS Bulletin 33(2)
This article provides a conceptual elaboration of the themes of citizenship, participation and accountability and exp...
This article provides a conceptual elaboration of the themes of citizenship, participation and accountability and explores links between them. It builds on the Society for Participatory Research in Asias (PRIA) conceptual understanding and practical experiences of these three concepts and highlights three research projects developed with the Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability (Citizenship DRC), which aim to strengthen their understanding., The author highlights the historical approach to spaces for participation. Forms of participation in traditional and modern contexts are identified and the article elaborates on a Citizenship DRC research project where PRIA is studying multiple forms and sites of participation in the forestry and watershed management sectors. The article further elaborates on the distinctive political and cultural meaning of participation, drawing on lessons from a study on Civil Society and Governance, undertaken in collaboration with Commonwealth Foundation. Examining the individual and collective notion of citizenship, the article recognizes the need to examine the relationship between the two notions of citizenship. PRIAs Citizenship DRC study on citizenship in the newly created state of Jharkhand aims to examine various meanings and images of citizenship, thus contributing to different notions of citizenship. Elaborating the third theme of accountability, the author explores issues of public good, public institutions and public accountability, with a focus on the significance of multi-party accountability. Under the Citizenship DRC research project, PRIA is studying the process of multi-party accountability in Maharashtra for the promotion of just and equitable industrial development. The article finally links the three concepts in a governance wheel, recognizing that the three form the essential basis for meaningful governance.
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Kabeer, N
IDS Bulletin 33(2)
This paper explores the simultaneous processes of inclusion and exclusion as they have occurred in different places a...
This paper explores the simultaneous processes of inclusion and exclusion as they have occurred in different places and at different times in order to understand better the vision of society, the material interests and the notions of identity which have helped to delineate different understandings of the concept. The article aims to contribute to the development of a research agenda on the theme of inclusive citizenship, particularly the challenges it presents in the context of poorer southern countries today. Building on Fraser and Gordons historical analysis of civic and social citizenship, it is argued that the notions of citizenship constructed in the West are inappropriate in post-colonial contexts, in which pre-existing differences within the population have been exacerbated or artificially suppressed by the strategic manoeuvrings of colonial powers. As a result prevailing ideas about personhood, identity and affiliation lead to fractured notions of citizenship and exclusionary outcomes. The author concludes with a proposal of four themes for future research into inclusive citizenship in the South.
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Jones, E & Gaventa J
IDS Development Bibliographies, No. 19, February
The review essay in this Development Bibliography provides a broad map to contemporary thinking around citizenship, i...
The review essay in this Development Bibliography provides a broad map to contemporary thinking around citizenship, in order to provide a theoretical frame of reference for empirical work on the contextual relations between citizenship, participation and accountability. The attached section of annotated references provides brief summaries of recent texts that we have found to be particularly helpful. Other papers in this series explore participation, accountability and inclusion as they relate to citizenship, and thus both complement and give greater depth to the summaries provided in this Development Bibliography.
