When Informality Matters: Participatory Security Reform and Mechanisms of Social Embeddedness in Nezahualcóyotl, Mexico

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Françoise Montambeault ◽  
Annabelle Dias Félix
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Social Embeddedness ◽  
Successful Implementation

Abstract What are the conditions underlying successful implementation of participatory security mechanisms? Drawing on the case of Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl and from the notion of social embeddedness, we argue that participatory security reforms that aim to include citizens in defining security priorities allow for better adoption of reforms in practice. Local level reforms are not implemented in a social vacuum but rather in pre-existing social networks that are key to their adoption in practice by citizens. However, not all social networks are equal, nor do they operate in the same manner. In ‘Neza’, it is through existing clientelistic networks and socially embedded local brokers that the redes vecinales were implemented and adopted by citizens, leading to varied reform adoption patterns at the very local level.

scholarly journals Disaster management strategies and relation of good governance for the coastal Bangladesh

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-279
Author(s):  
Prabal Barua ◽  
◽  
Abhijit Mitra ◽  
Saeid Eslamian ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Management ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Management Policies

Although Bangladesh’s immense steps in preparing the disaster management policies following the values of good governance issue, the quantity to which these policies have productively been executing at the local level remnants mostly unknown. The objectives of this investigation were dual: firstly, to inspect the roles and efficiency of the local-level governance and disaster management organization, and lastly, to recognize the obstacles to the execution of national the policies and Disaster-Risk-Reduction guidelines at the local community level. The authors applied qualitative research and case Study approach, using techniques from the Participatory Rural Appraisal toolbox to collect data from local community members as well as government and NGO officials. From the finding of the study, it was revealed that interactive disaster governance, decentralization of disaster management, and compliance by local-level institutions with good governance principles and national policy guidelines can be extremely effective in reducing disaster-loss and damages. According to coastal community members, the local governments have generally failed to uphold good governance principles, and triangulated data confirm that the region at large suffers from rampant corruption, political favoritism, lack of transparency and accountability and minimal inclusion of local inhabitants in decision-making – all of which have severely impeded the successful implementation of national disaster-management policies. This study contributes to these research gaps, with identification of further research agenda in these areas. The paper deals with International Sendai Framework that called for enhancement of local level community resilience to disasters. Thus, it contributes to numerous policy and practice areas relating to good disaster governance. The study identified the specific manifestations of these failures in coastal communities in Bangladesh. These results underscore the vital need to address the wide gap between national DRR goals and the on-the-ground realities of policy implementation to successfully enhance the country’s resilience to climate change-induced disasters.

Citizen-Government Collaborative Environment Using Social Networks

2019 ◽  
pp. 152-165
Author(s):  
Hany Abdelghaffar ◽  
Lobna Hassan
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Quantitative Approach ◽  
Collaborative Environment ◽  
Electronic Democracy ◽  
Democratic Change ◽  
The World

Electronic democracy is a concept which is used in some countries around the world with mixed success. Social networks helped in facilitating democracy and democratic change in several countries suggesting that they could be utilized as an e-democracy tool. This research proposed a new model of how the decision-making process for local governments could be improved via social networks. Quantitative approach was used to investigate how the use of a social network amongst people living in the same suburb could improve decision making on the local level. Findings showed that awareness building, deliberation, and consultation factors could be used to affect the decision making for their local governments.

A Statistical Analysis of Priority Factors for Local e-Government in a Developing Country

2012 ◽  
pp. 559-576
Author(s):  
St.Wisnu Wijaya ◽  
Aris Dwiatmoko ◽  
Kridanto Surendro ◽  
Husni S Sastramihardja
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources ◽  
Developing Country ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Corporate Culture ◽  
Information Quality ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Daily Work ◽  
Information And Communication

This chapter presents findings of a study devoted to investigating the factors that influence successful implementation of e-Government at a local level in a developing country context. The study is based on the case study of Yogyakarta Local Government, Indonesia. Using qualitative methods of data gathering, the study developes a conceptual model with 27 items that were used for developing the questionnaire distributed into conducting in-depth interviews with 200 government officials in Yogyakarta, who adopted Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as a platform for their daily work activities. The study also conducted desk research that explored many documents on ICT implementation in the public sector. The results reveal that the most significant factors that influence success in e-Government projects are corporate culture and e-Governance competency. The other factors, in order of importance were users’ willingness and competency in using ICTs, Information quality and human resources competency, and system quality, which was moderated by information quality and human resources competency.

scholarly journals Decentralisation in developing countries: preconditions for successful implementation

2014 ◽  
pp. 23-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasin Olum
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Capacity Development ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Political Will

Decentralisation has been implemented and is being implemented in many developing countries without much success. Although several unique factors inhibit the implementation of decentralisation in individual countries, the paper argues that there are six pre-conditions that these countries should fulfill before decentralisation can be successfully implemented. These preconditions are: institutional mechanisms; creation of spaces for participation; political will and civil will; capacity development at the local level; careful implementation; and democratic governance.

scholarly journals Institutional design for collective and holistic political leadership

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Torfing ◽  
Eva Sørensen ◽  
Tina Ollgaard Bentzen
Keyword(s):  
Local Community ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Institutional Reforms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Policy Solutions

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study and assess the content, functioning and impact of institutional reforms aiming to enhance collective and holistic political leadership at the level of local government. Design/methodology/approach The authors conduct a comparative case study of two Danish frontrunner municipalities drawing on relevant documents and qualitative interviews with both elected politicians and public administrators. Findings The authors found that institutional design is effective in promoting collective and holistic political leadership at the local level, even if no formal design options are available and the municipalities have to invent their own designs. Support both from both councilors and administrators is paramount for successful implementation of local political leadership reforms. Research limitations/implications Due to the purposive selection of a limited number of cases, the findings cannot be generalized to the population from which the cases are drawn. However, other municipalities may learn from and become inspired by the positive impact of the new institutional designs on collective and holistic political leadership. Practical implications Whereas some institutional political leadership reforms aim to enhance the power of the mayor and other reforms aim to create a cabinet or a committee system, the reforms the authors are studying aim to create a space for local councilors to work together across party and sector lines in creating collective and holistic policy solutions. The study shows that it is crucial that local councilors are involved in cross-boundary agenda setting before developing policies in standing committees and endorsing them in the council assembly. Social implications There is a large amount of more or less wicked problems that require the formulation and implementation of innovative policy solutions, which, in turn, call for a clear and determined political leadership. However, local politicians typically suffer from decoupling and tunnel vision. The results show that these problems can be solved through new institutional designs that promote a more collective and holistic political leadership that can take the local community forward. Originality/value Few studies have hitherto addressed the need for institutional reforms enabling collective and holistic political leadership through both theoretical and empirical analyses, but that is exactly what the authors try to accomplish.

scholarly journals Review of the Commonwealth Local Government Good Practice Scheme

2012 ◽  
pp. 150-158
Author(s):  
Rachael Duchnowski
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Millennium Development Goals ◽  
Local Authority ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Government Performance ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Management Efficiency ◽  
Efficiency And Effectiveness ◽  
Development Goals

The overarching objective of the Commonwealth Local Government Good Practice Scheme (GPS) was to contribute towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals at the local level; there were four expected outputs:1. Increased capacity of local authorities to plan and deliver services, through successful implementation of CLGF-funded projects focussed on the following nationally agreed themes, relevant to the achievement of the MDGs;2. Measurable and/or assessable improvements in individual and/or departmental/local authority management efficiency and effectiveness delivered through the GPS projects;3. National local government associations possess effective knowledge management systems and dissemination networks working nationally - and internationally through CLGF;4. Utilisation of expertise of local government practitioners in partner countries to improve local government performance more widely.

Social Embeddedness and Rational Turnout

2019 ◽  
pp. 360-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carole Jean Uhlaner
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Rational Choice ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Social Embeddedness ◽  
Relational Goods ◽  
The Social ◽  
Group Identities ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Theoretical Developments

Models that embed people in social groups provide solutions to the paradox of voting. This chapter summarizes several approaches that use group identities and loyalties to generate substantial turnout even within rational choice models of participation (whether voting or collective action more broadly). One theoretical move introduces leaders acting instrumentally to mobilize individuals who belong to some group, thereby integrating the individual citizen’s consumption term into an instrumental calculus. Other, complementary, theoretical developments introduce relational goods, which exist only with interaction among specific people, as part of the mobilizing arsenal, or more generally develop relational motivations for collective action. The chapter briefly discusses some empirical findings, notably including experiments that show that shame, pride, and digital social networks increase turnout, and argues that these results provide support for the social embeddedness models.

scholarly journals Neighbourhoods, networks and unemployment: The role of neighbourhood disadvantage and local networks in taking up work

Urban Studies ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 004209802092537
Author(s):  
Leen Vandecasteele ◽  
Anette Eva Fasang
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Embeddedness ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Neighbourhood Effects ◽  
Local Networks ◽  
Administrative Information ◽  
Disadvantaged Neighbourhood ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Employment Data

We bring together research on social networks and neighbourhood disadvantage to examine how they jointly affect unemployed individuals’ probability of re-entering employment. Data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study ‘Understanding Society’ provide information on the proportion of friends who live in the same neighbourhood, and are linked with small-scale administrative information on neighborhood employment deprivation. Results indicate that neighbourhood employment deprivation prolongs unemployment, but only for individuals who report that all of their friends live in the same neighbourhood. Living in an advantaged neighbourhood with all of one’s friends in the neighbourhood increases the chances of exiting unemployment. In contrast, neighbourhood location is not associated with unemployment exit if one’s friends do not live in the same neighbourhood. We conclude that neighbourhood effects on exiting unemployment critically depend on individuals’ social embeddedness in the neighbourhood. Not just residing in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, but actually living there with all one’s friends, prevents individuals from re-entering employment. This opens new avenues for theorising neighbourhood effects as social rather than geographic phenomena, and highlights that the effects of neighbourhood socio-economic characteristics are conditional on the level of interaction residents have within their neighbourhood.

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