Building Local Democracy: Evaluating the Impact of Decentralization in Kerala, India

Heller, Patrick; Chaudhuri, Shubham

doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2006.07.001

Cited by 191 publications

(133 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Listed here are just four examples, the first being the participatory politics of the Indian state of Kerala, the decentralisation and devolution of government to the local communities based on state's initiative (Heller and Isaac, 2005;Heller, Harilal and Chaudhuri, 2007;Ramakantan, 2009). The second is the grassroots work of thousands of social movements dedicated to the local, and often rural, struggle for democratisation, such as the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS -Association for the Empowerment of Workers and Peasants) in Rajasthan.…”

Section: From Crises To Inclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Democratisation beyond the Crisis of Liberalism, Bringing Civil Society within the State

Gianolla¹

2017

rccs

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Philosophers, sociologists and political scientists may analyse political crises by looking at the relationship between the liberal and democratic pillars of liberal-democratic regimes. Social questioning of representation (abstention, apathy and protest) is a democratic response to the failure of the liberal pillar to democratise access to political power, therefore, the crisis of liberalism. M. K. Gandhi developed an alternative theory based on intercultural perspectives and on local, ethical communities. Through Boaventura de Sousa Santos’ “epistemologies of the South”, this article analyses how Gandhi’s work can be mobilised to foster democratisation theory. The study contends that to overcome the crises, democratisation of the liberal pillar is both paramount and achievable with a new interplay of the state and civil society.

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Section: From Crises To Inclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Democratisation beyond the Crisis of Liberalism, Bringing Civil Society within the State

Gianolla¹

2017

rccs

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“…These differences mean that we should expect few generalizable findings across the four states. has remained in place to this day (Heller, Harilal and Chaudhuri 2007). A study reports that the role of gram sabha in the planning process has largely been confined to need identification and beneficiary selection, and its role in seeking accountability and monitoring implementation is either non-existent or unclear, and that women's participation increased in the gram sabhas in the later cycle that were focused exclusively on beneficiary selection (Kurian 2010).…”

Section: Context: 'Gram Sabha' and 'Shgs' In South Indiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Oral Democracy and Women's Oratory Competency in Indian Village Assemblies: A Qualitative Analysis

Sanyal¹,

Rao²,

Prabhakar³

2015

Policy Research Working Papers

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In democracies, innovative political institutions have opened up scope for direct public participation often in the form of talk: citizens talking to the state and mutual talk among citizens on matters concerning community development. A prominent example is the Indian gram sabha, or village assembly, which occurs in a highly stratified context. This paper undertakes a talk-centered analysis of the gram sabha with a focus on examining the oral participation of women in general and women affiliated with microcredit self-help groups who have access to an associational life. The qualitative analysis of 255 gram sabha transcripts from four South Indian states finds that women associated with microcredit self-help groups employ a wider variety of narrative styles and utilize a more multilayered structure to convey their messages compared with all women taken together. Thus, the difference is not so much in the numerical instances of talking or in the types of issues raised, but rather in the quality of participation. The paper makes an important theoretical contribution by proposing the concept of oral democracy as an alternative to deliberative democracy, and urges an analytical focus on the oral or oratory competency of subordinated groups as they participate in these important institutions.

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“…Yashar 2005; Rueschemeyer et al 1992;Clemens 1993;Collier 1999;Skocpol 1992;Tilly 1986Tilly , 1997Tilly , 2004 Cf. Heller et al 2007;Heller 2009;Foweraker and Landman 1997;Abel 1981;Garth and Sarat 1998;Hunt 1993;Santos 1987Santos , 1995. See also Kymlicka and Norma (1994).…”

Section: Citizenship In Practice and The Quality Of Democracymentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations, active citizenship, and the quality of democracy in Brazil and Mexico

Houtzager

Acharya

2010

Theor Soc

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In many Third Wave democracies large classes of people experience diminished forms of citizenship. The systematic exclusion from mandated public goods and services significantly injures the citizenship and life chances of entire social groups. In democratic theory civil associations have a fundamental role to play in reversing this reality. One strand of theory, known as civic engagement, suggests that associations empower their members to engage in public politics, hold state officials to account, claim public services, and thereby improve the quality of democracy. Empirical demonstration of the argument is surprisingly rare, however, and limited to affluent democracies. In this article, we use original survey data for two large cities in Third Wave democracies-São Paulo and Mexico City-to explore this argument in a novel way. We focus on the extent to which participation in associations (or associationalism) increases "active citizenship"-the effort to negotiate directly with state agents access to goods and services legally mandated for public provision, such as healthcare, sanitation, and security-rather than civic engagement, which encompasses any voluntary and public spirited activity. We examine separately associationalism's impact on the quality of citizenship, a dimension that varies independently from the level of active citizenship, by assessing differences in the types of citizenship practices individuals use to obtain access to vital goods and services. To interpret the findings, and identify possible causal pathways, the paper moves back-and-forth between two major research traditions that are rarely brought into dialogue: civic engagement and comparative historical studies of democratization.

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Building Local Democracy: Evaluating the Impact of Decentralization in Kerala, India

Cited by 191 publications

References 12 publications

Democratisation beyond the Crisis of Liberalism, Bringing Civil Society within the State

Democratisation beyond the Crisis of Liberalism, Bringing Civil Society within the State

Oral Democracy and Women's Oratory Competency in Indian Village Assemblies: A Qualitative Analysis

Associations, active citizenship, and the quality of democracy in Brazil and Mexico

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