Society-driven Participatory Institutions: Lessons from Colombia’s Planning Councils

2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay Mayka

ABSTRACTThis article challenges the conventional wisdom that enthusiastic state support is a prerequisite to building strong participatory institutions. Through an analysis of Colombia’s planning councils, this study develops the concept of the societydriven participatory institution, in which civil society actors, rather than the state, undertake the core tasks involved in implementing participatory institutions. The article argues that while state neglect limits their involvement in decisionmaking, society-driven participatory institutions can still develop important policymaking roles in agenda setting and in monitoring and evaluating public policy.

Author(s):  
Kate Crowley ◽  
Jenny Stewart ◽  
Adrian Kay ◽  
Brian W. Head

State-centred and society-centred explanations in comparative public policy analysis disagree markedly on the extent to which the state has autonomy or is essentially a clearing-house for outside forces. In this chapter, we reconsider the position of the state in policy studies by investigating the interactions and inter-dependency between the state and society rather than making a binary choice between state-centred and society-centred perspectives on governance. The core argument is that policy studies can improve its ability to apprehend the position of the state in dilemmas of contemporary policy-making by acknowledging that the state is, at once, both critical to collective action and reliant on crucial elements of societal support for its policy effectiveness. In such terms, governance is a useful label for the variety of ways in which society is not simply acted upon by the state, but actively shapes the actions of and outcomes of state activity.


Author(s):  
Mariana Mazzucato

Building on the core ideas in the author’s book The Entrepreneurial State: debunking private vs. public sector myths, the chapter looks at the narrow way in which public policy is viewed in economics and the implications of this for our understanding of wealth creation. Focusing on the relationship between the State and innovation-led growth, it looks at the key role that public policies have had in taking on extreme risk and uncertainty in the innovation process. This has entailed the State acting not just as lender of last resort, but as investor of first resort. In this context, economic policy is more about market making and shaping, rather than just a market fixing. The chapter then focuses on the implications of this different understanding of public policy, for a more ‘collective’ understanding of wealth creation, and ways to ensure that not only risks but also rewards are socialized.


Author(s):  
Alfred B. Evans

This paper explores the ideas that have been offered by the Putin leadership in Russia to justify the concentration of power achieved since 2000. Though Vladimir Putin has said that Russia does not need a state ideology, since early 2006 some officials associated with Putin, including Vladislav Surkov, have called for an ideology for the dominant United Russia Party, and have asserted that Putin’s speeches provide the core of that ideology. This essay discusses Putin’s position on Russia’s commitment to democracy, the relationship between Russia and Europe, and the nature of the international system in which Russia fi nds itself. The author sees the concept of “sovereign democracy” that has been offered by Surkov and endorsed by United Russia as summarizing ideas that already had been articulated by Putin. Putin’s words strongly emphasize the importance of a consensus of values in Russian society and politics. That theme has important implications for the relationship between the state and civil society in Russia. Evans argues that the ideological pronouncements of the Putin leadership refl ect tension between apparently inconsistent principles resulting from a combination of inherently contradictory themes. Putin identifi es the main danger facing Russia in the contemporary period as disintegration rather than stagnation.


Author(s):  
Jo Crotty ◽  
Sergej Ljubownikow

AbstractThe work of non-profit organisations (NPOs) in non-democratic country contexts tends to be judged on their contribution to the democratisation process rather than the activities they undertake. This neglects the potential impact NPOs have on societies within such contexts. In this study, we highlight that NPOs can influence public policy deployment in the Russian Federation even if they cannot affect public policy itself. By operationalising the very restrictions placed upon them, NPOs use their relationships with the state to effect change within their immediate environment and scope of their operational remit, even if they cannot hold authorities to account or influence policy development. The key to this is strong organising capabilities and engagement with the Russian public. We reflect on the implications of our findings to the understanding of civil society development and NPOs in Russia and in other similar non-democratic contexts.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 142-158
Author(s):  
Emelia Rubalcaba Medina

The purpose of this research is to analyze, through quantitative methodology techniques, the organizational capacity of Civil Society Organizations (CSO) in Mexico and their influence on public policy. It will seek to determine CSOs’ main characteristics (internally and externally) to identify the different channels through which they can exercise their influence, specifically in the agenda-setting process and the implementation of their proposals. The final objective of this article is to lead its findings toward public policy recommendations that empower CSOs by means of strengthening their organizational capacities.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 32-38
Author(s):  
S. O. Mosondz ◽  
E. O. Kazmiryshyn

The article is devoted to the research of directions of administrative and legal support of the state policy in the field of European integration of Ukraine. On the basis of the study, the author clarifies the content of the categories of state policy and European integration of Ukraine; certain sources that determine the content and direction of state policy in the field of European integration of Ukraine; outlines directions of administrative and legal provision of state policy in the field of European integration of Ukraine.It is well-proven that European integration of Ukraine as sphere of public policy of Ukraine does not have permanent maintenance. Four groups of directions of public policy are distinguished in the field of European integration of Ukraine, that is provided due to the norms of administrative law: 1) directions that touch public relations in connection with providing of public power subjects, first of all, by public administration of rights, freedoms and legal interests of private persons in the field of realization of public policy in the field of European integration of Ukraine; 2) directions that touch public relations, in relation to the management of public and communal domain objects in the field of realization of public policy in the field of European integration of Ukraine; 3) directions that touch, that public relations that determine внутрішньоорганізаційну activity of public government bodies in relation to realization of public policy in the field of European integration of Ukraine; 4) directions that touch, that public relations in the field of co-operating of public government bodies with the institutes of civil society in relation to realization of public policy in the field of European integration of Ukraine.


Author(s):  
K. S. Nesterova  ◽  
 A. O. Yakovenkо ◽  
M. M. Koroshenko

У сучасних умовах кліматична повістка є однією з ключових на міжнародній арені, оскільки кліматичні загрози вже мають характер «масової зброї», яка знищує не лише традиційні галузі національної економіки, передусім сільське господарство, але і населення, що змушує країни до розробки та реалізації політики зваженого відношення до ресурсів. Ключовою концепцією у розрізі забезпечення сталого розвитку є біоекономіка. Недостатність теоретичного підґрунтя та багатовекторність біоекономіки, а також необхідність її розвитку в Україні в контексті євроінтеграційного напрямку обумовлюють актуальність досліджень у цій сфері. Метою статті є визначення сучасних проблем, які стоять перед вітчизняними підприємствами у процесі впровадження біотехнологій, а також організаційно-економічного механізму їх підтримки в контексті реалізації державного стратегічного управління розвитком біоекономіки в Україні. Наукова новизна полягає у наданні рекомендацій щодо державного управління розвитком біоекономіки в Україні з урахуванням прогресивного світового досвіду. Висновки. Біоекономіка – це новітня концепція організації людської діяльності, заснована на ощадливому ставленні до ресурсів з метою забезпечення сталого розвитку суспільства. Вітчизняні підприємства стикаються з певними проблемами, які обмежують можливості впровадження ними біотехнологій, мінімізувати негативний вплив яких можливо шляхом реалізації ефективної державної регуляторної політики. Задля розвитку біоекономіки в Україні має бути розроблена комплексна державна політика на стратегічному (формулювання стратегічних орієнтирів), нормативно-правовому (розробка відповідної нормативно-правової бази з урахуванням рекомендацій міжнародних організацій), інструментальному (реалізація комплексу економічних методів, способів прямого та опосередкованого впливу, а також організаційно-правових методів). Саме такий системний підхід до розвитку біоекономіки сприятиме ефективній реалізації цієї концепції в Україні.


2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (10) ◽  
pp. 1943-1967
Author(s):  
Peter S. Henne ◽  
Nilay Saiya ◽  
Ashlyn W. Hand

This article addresses a puzzle in terrorism studies. That terrorism functions as a “weapon of the weak” is conventional wisdom among terrorism researchers. When it comes to religious communities, however, often it is those groups favored by the state—rather than repressed minority communities—that commit acts of terrorism. We argue that this is because official religious favoritism can empower and radicalize majority communities, leading them to commit more and more destructive terrorist attacks. We test this claim using a statistical analysis of Muslim-majority countries. Our findings support the idea that the combination of state support of religion and discrimination against minorities encourages terrorism from majority religious groups.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 101-107
Author(s):  
O. O. Demyanenko

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of public deliberative discourse as one of the leading instruments for political modernization. The emphasis is placed on the fact that deliberative communication became possible in practical terms as a result of consolidation of postmodern as a world outlook. It is emphasized that deliberative discourse is a communicative act of equal members, aimed at achieving a compromise in the form of a concrete public decision. The author argues that deliberative discourse contributes to the strengthening of civil society, which, in turn, acts as a kind of trigger for political modernization. After all, the consolidated community is better aware of its own interests, properly formulates common requirements and communicates them to the state and other political institutions. Deliberation offers a new interpretation of rationality, legitimacy, publicity, etc. Public policy is a sphere of partnership interaction of public entities, including the state as a carrier of political power and civil society as a carrier of communication power. It is systematically proved that deliberative discourse has a complex effect on the political system, which is objectified at the level of its individual components. Political modernization is understood as the logical existential deployment of the political system, which states the dynamics and denies the static of the latter. In the course of a deliberative discourse, changes take place in the political consciousness of a citizen, emotional expressions turn into logical and rational beliefs. It is argued that inclusiveness, equality and transparency of deliberative measures allow a citizen to become an active actor of public policy, suggesting a new political culture. Changing values provokes a new way of action. Therefore, a delibearative political culture leads to a new format of political relations – cooperation. As a result, a number of changes take place at the institutional level (the public administration model and its tools are updated). That is how the paradigm of good governance is strengthened and the e-governance method is activated. Modernization measures at the level of political consciousness and culture, political relations and institutions with necessity lead to the improvement of the normative and legal basis for the functioning of the political sphere of public life.


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