Mobilizing for Democracy
Citizen Action and the Politics of Public Participation
Published on 9. September 2010
Book
Hardback
304 pages
978-1-84813-445-4 (ISBN)
Description
Mobilizing for Democracy is an in-depth study into how ordinary citizens and their organizations mobilize to deepen democracy. Featuring a collection of new empirical case studies from Angola, Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, this important new book illustrates how forms of political mobilization, such as protests, social participation, activism, litigation and lobbying, engage with the formal institutions of representative democracy in ways that are core to the development of democratic politics.
No other volume has brought together examples from such a broad Southern spectrum and covering such a diversity of actors: rural and urban dwellers, transnational activists, religious groups, politicians and social leaders. The cases illuminate the crucial contribution that citizen mobilization makes to democratization and the building of state institutions, and reflect the uneasy relationship between citizens and the institutions that are designed to foster their political participation.
No other volume has brought together examples from such a broad Southern spectrum and covering such a diversity of actors: rural and urban dwellers, transnational activists, religious groups, politicians and social leaders. The cases illuminate the crucial contribution that citizen mobilization makes to democratization and the building of state institutions, and reflect the uneasy relationship between citizens and the institutions that are designed to foster their political participation.
Reviews / Votes
'A welcome and timely engagement of cases of participatory democracy from Africa, India, and Latin America that have not, on average, been subject to the levels of intensive study common in the wealthy democracies.'Mark E. Warren, University of British Columbia
'Mobilizing for Democracy makes an invaluable contribution to our understanding of how citizen mobilization can deepen democracy. The book is original because of the sophistication with which it disaggregates the complexities of citizen mobilization, recognizing both the extraordinary variety of contextual dynamics that condition mobilization and the range of outcomes.'
Patrick Heller, Brown University
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Product notice
Paper over boards
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 138 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-84813-445-4 (9781848134454)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Mobilizing for Democracy
Citizen Action and the Politics of Public Participation
E-Book
09/2010
1st Edition
Zed Books Ltd
€35.49
Available for download
Persons
Vera Schattan Coelho is a research fellow at Centro Brasileiro de Analise e Planejamento (CEBRAP, the Brazilian Centre for Analysis and Planning), where she coordinates the Citizenship and Development Group. A Brazilian political scientist, she has written widely on issues of participation and social policy in Latin America. She serves as co-convenor of the Deepening Democracy working group of the Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability.
Bettina von Lieres is a Senior Lecturer in the Political Studies Department at the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town, South Africa, and also teaches at the University of Toronto. A South African political scientist, she has written widely on issues of democracy, citizenship and marginalisation. She serves as co-convenor of the Deepening Democracy subgroup of the Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability.
Bettina von Lieres is a Senior Lecturer in the Political Studies Department at the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town, South Africa, and also teaches at the University of Toronto. A South African political scientist, she has written widely on issues of democracy, citizenship and marginalisation. She serves as co-convenor of the Deepening Democracy subgroup of the Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability.
Content
Foreword - John Gaventa
Introduction - Vera S. Coelho & Bettina von Lieres
Part I: Associational mobilization: constructing citizenship
2. Have NGO Political Empowerment Programs at the Grassroots Level Contributed the Deepening of Democracy in Kenya? - Celestine Nyamu Musembi
3. Microfinance and Social Mobilization: Alternative Pathways to Grassroots Democracy? - Naila Kabeer and Simeen Mahmud
4. The Nucleo Representativo das Associacoes (NRA) of Dombe Grande, Angola: building democracy and citizenship at the local level - Idaci Ferreira and Sandra Roque
Part II: Social movements: contesting political authority and building state responsiveness
5. We got it in our heads that we should do the job of the state the Indigenous Peoples - Movement and the Health System in Acre, Brazil - Alex Shankland
6. The 2007 Movement and the Role of Citizen Action in the Consolidation of Democracy in Nigeria - Jibrin Ibrahim and Samuel Egwu
7. How Deep is Deep Democracy? Global Citizenship in Local Spaces - Steven Robins
Part III: Citizen involvement in formal governance mechanisms
8. The Infinite Agenda of Social Justice: Dalit Mobilization in the Institutions of Local Governance - Ranjita Mohanty
9. Public Involvement and Social Mobilization: A win-win game? - Vera S. P. Coelho, Alexandre Ferraz, Fabiola Fanti, Meire Ribeiro
10. Dynamics of Political Change and transformation: Civil Society, Governance and the Culture of Politics in Kenya - Duncan Okello
Part IV: Where and how to participate?
11. Passivity or Protest? Understanding the dimensions of Mobilization on Rights to Services in Khayelitsha, Cape Town - Lisa Thompson and Ndodana Nleya
12. How styles of activism influence social participation and democratic deliberation - Arilson Favareto, Yumi Goncalves, Frederico Menino, Carolina Galvanese, Vera S. P. Coelho
Introduction - Vera S. Coelho & Bettina von Lieres
Part I: Associational mobilization: constructing citizenship
2. Have NGO Political Empowerment Programs at the Grassroots Level Contributed the Deepening of Democracy in Kenya? - Celestine Nyamu Musembi
3. Microfinance and Social Mobilization: Alternative Pathways to Grassroots Democracy? - Naila Kabeer and Simeen Mahmud
4. The Nucleo Representativo das Associacoes (NRA) of Dombe Grande, Angola: building democracy and citizenship at the local level - Idaci Ferreira and Sandra Roque
Part II: Social movements: contesting political authority and building state responsiveness
5. We got it in our heads that we should do the job of the state the Indigenous Peoples - Movement and the Health System in Acre, Brazil - Alex Shankland
6. The 2007 Movement and the Role of Citizen Action in the Consolidation of Democracy in Nigeria - Jibrin Ibrahim and Samuel Egwu
7. How Deep is Deep Democracy? Global Citizenship in Local Spaces - Steven Robins
Part III: Citizen involvement in formal governance mechanisms
8. The Infinite Agenda of Social Justice: Dalit Mobilization in the Institutions of Local Governance - Ranjita Mohanty
9. Public Involvement and Social Mobilization: A win-win game? - Vera S. P. Coelho, Alexandre Ferraz, Fabiola Fanti, Meire Ribeiro
10. Dynamics of Political Change and transformation: Civil Society, Governance and the Culture of Politics in Kenya - Duncan Okello
Part IV: Where and how to participate?
11. Passivity or Protest? Understanding the dimensions of Mobilization on Rights to Services in Khayelitsha, Cape Town - Lisa Thompson and Ndodana Nleya
12. How styles of activism influence social participation and democratic deliberation - Arilson Favareto, Yumi Goncalves, Frederico Menino, Carolina Galvanese, Vera S. P. Coelho