scholarly journals Building collective power in citizen-led initiatives for health accountability in Guatemala: The role of networks

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Hernandez ◽  
Anna-Karin Hurtig ◽  
Isabel Goicolea ◽  
Miguel San Sebastian ◽  
Fernando Jerez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Health System ◽  
System Failures ◽  
Marginalized Communities ◽  
The People ◽  
Network Building ◽  
History Of ◽  
Relational Qualities ◽  
Base Of Support ◽  
Network Mapping

Abstract Background Citizen-led accountability initiatives are a critical strategy for redressing the causes of health inequalities and promoting better health system governance. A growing body of evidence points to the need for putting power relations at the forefront of understanding and operationalizing citizen-led accountability, rather than technical tools and best practices. In this study, we apply a network lens to the question of how initiatives build collective power to redress health system failures affecting marginalized communities in three municipalities in Guatemala. Methods Network mapping and interpretive discussions were used to examine relational qualities of citizen-led initiatives’ networks and explore the resources they offer for mobilizing action and influencing health accountability. Participants in the municipal-level initiatives responded to a social network analysis questionnaire focused on their ties of communication and collaboration with other initiative participants and their interactions with authorities regarding health system problems. Discussions with participants about the maps generated enriched our view of what the ties represented and their history of collective action and also provided space for planning action to strengthen their networks. Results Our findings indicate that network qualities like cohesiveness and centralization reflected the initiative participants’ agency in adapting to their sociopolitical context, and participants’ social positions were a key resource in providing connection to a broad base of support for mobilizing collective action to document health service deficiencies and advocate for solutions. Their legitimacy as “representatives of the people” enabled them to engage with authorities from a bolstered position of power, and their iterative interactions with authorities further contributed to develop their advocacy capabilities and resulted in accountability gains. Conclusions Our study provided evidence to counter the tendency to underestimate the assets and capabilities that marginalized citizens have for building power, and affirmed the idea that best-fit, with-the-grain approaches are well-suited for highly unequal settings characterized by weak governance. Efforts to support and understand change processes in citizen-led initiatives should include focus on adaptive network building to enable contextually-embedded approaches that leverage the collective power of the users of health services and grassroots leaders on the frontlines of accountability.

scholarly journals Building collective power in citizen-led initiatives for health accountability in Guatemala: The role of networks

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Hernandez ◽  
Anna-Karin Hurtig ◽  
Isabel Goicolea ◽  
Miguel San Sebastian ◽  
Fernando Jerez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Health System ◽  
System Failures ◽  
Marginalized Communities ◽  
The People ◽  
Network Building ◽  
History Of ◽  
Relational Qualities ◽  
Base Of Support ◽  
Network Mapping

Abstract Background Citizen-led accountability initiatives are a critical strategy for redressing the causes of health inequalities and promoting better health system governance. A growing body of evidence points to the need for putting power relations at the forefront of understanding and operationalizing citizen-led accountability, rather than technical tools and best practices. In this study, we apply a network lens to the question of how initiatives build collective power to redress health system failures affecting marginalized communities in three municipalities in Guatemala. Methods Network mapping and interpretive discussions were used to examine relational qualities of citizen-led initiatives’ networks and explore the resources they offer for mobilizing action and influencing health accountability. Participants in the municipal-level initiatives responded to a social network analysis questionnaire focused on their ties of communication and collaboration with other initiative participants and their interactions with authorities regarding health system problems. Discussions with participants about the maps generated enriched our view of what the ties represented and their history of collective action and also provided space for planning action to strengthen their networks. Results Our findings indicate that network qualities like cohesiveness and centralization reflected the initiative participants’ agency in adapting to their sociopolitical context, and participants’ social positions were a key resource in providing connection to a broad base of support for mobilizing collective action to document health service deficiencies and advocate for solutions. Their legitimacy as “representatives of the people” enabled them to engage with authorities from a bolstered position of power, and their iterative interactions with authorities further contributed to develop their advocacy capabilities and resulted in accountability gains. Conclusions Our study provided evidence to counter the tendency to underestimate the assets and capabilities that marginalized citizens have for building power, and affirmed the idea that best-fit, with-the-grain approaches are well-suited for highly unequal settings characterized by weak governance. Efforts to support and understand change processes in citizen-led initiatives should include focus on adaptive network building to enable contextually-embedded approaches that leverage the collective power of the users of health services and grassroots leaders on the frontlines of accountability.

scholarly journals Building collective power in citizen-led initiatives for health accountability in Guatemala: The role of networks

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Hernandez ◽  
Anna-Karin Hurtig ◽  
Isabel Goicolea ◽  
Miguel San Sebastian ◽  
Fernando Jerez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Health System ◽  
System Failures ◽  
Marginalized Communities ◽  
The People ◽  
Network Building ◽  
History Of ◽  
Relational Qualities ◽  
Base Of Support ◽  
Network Mapping

Abstract Background :Citizen-led accountability initiatives are a critical strategy for redressing the causes of health inequalities and promoting better health system governance. A growing body of evidence points to the need for putting power relations at the forefront of understanding and operationalizing citizen-led accountability, rather than technical tools and best practices. In this study, we apply a network lens to the question of how initiatives build collective power to redress health system failures affecting marginalized communities in three municipalities in Guatemala. Methods: Network mapping and interpretive discussions were used to examine relational qualities of citizen-led initiatives’ networks and explore the resources they offer for mobilizing action and influencing health accountability. Participants in the municipal-level initiatives responded to a social network analysis questionnaire focused on their ties of communication and collaboration with other initiative participants and their interactions with authorities regarding health system problems. Discussions with participants about the maps generated enriched our view of what the ties represented and their history of collective action and also provided space for planning action to strengthen their networks. Results: Our findings indicate that network qualities like cohesiveness and centralization reflected the initiative participants’ agency in adapting to their sociopolitical context, and participants’ social positions were a key resource in providing connection to a broad base of support for mobilizing collective action to document health service deficiencies and advocate for solutions. Their legitimacy as “representatives of the people” enabled them to engage with authorities from a bolstered position of power, and their iterative interactions with authorities further contributed to develop their advocacy capabilities and resulted in accountability gains. Conclusions: Our study provided evidence to counter the tendency to underestimate the assets and capabilities that marginalized citizens have for building power, and affirmed the idea that best-fit, with-the-grain approaches are well-suited for highly unequal settings characterized by weak governance. Efforts to support and understand change processes in citizen-led initiatives should include focus on adaptive network building to enable contextually-embedded approaches that leverage the collective power of the users of health services and grassroots leaders on the frontlines of accountability.

scholarly journals Seven Decades of Primary Healthcare during Various Development Plans in Iran: A Historical Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 338-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leila Doshmangir ◽  
Esmaeil Moshiri ◽  
Farshad Farzadfar
Keyword(s):  
Health System ◽  
Primary Healthcare ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Historical Review ◽  
The People ◽  
Before And After ◽  
History Of ◽  
Development Plans ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Iranian Health System

Objective: To explore historically primary healthcare (PHC) development in Iran in the light of development plans before and after the Islamic Revolution. The results of this study can be used to outline the future of PHC in the Iranian health system. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of the PHC development in the Iranian health system using data from relevant published and unpublished policy documents. The literature was retrieved and reviewed on the basis of predetermined inclusion criteria with no language or date restriction. The data were integrated and analyzed using content analysis. Results: During various upstream development plans, the attitude of the policy makers to PHC has been very different, resulting in fundamental differences in addressing such an important issue and the consequent outcomes. In the aftermath of Iran’s revolution, due to more understanding of PHC services importance and the principal slogans of the revolution to pay attention to villagers and vulnerable people, health policymakers paid more attention to PHC, which was not evident in previous periods. Conclusions: Despite considerable achievements in PHC, the history of PHC in Iran indicates frequent changes in planning and health provision structure. This suggests that the challenges facing the health sector today, the evolving needs and demands of the people, and population changes necessitate reinforcement and reform in the structure of the current PHC network as the main mission of Iran’s Ministry of Health.

Challenges In The Development Of The Health System In Surkhan Volume

2021 ◽  
Vol 03 (02) ◽  
pp. 63-67
Author(s):  
Nodira Ibragimovna Hasanova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Health System ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of

This article discusses the history of undeveloped field of medicine where local doctors treated the people as they knew in the 20-30s of the XX century in the land of Surkhandarya. Doctors had worked tirelessly to cure patients. The medicines they used were made from local herbs in a variety of ways to treat patients.

scholarly journals Whiteness in Christianity and Decoloniality of the African Experience: Developing a Political Theology for ‘Shalom’ in Kenya

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 1006
Author(s):  
Martin Munyao ◽  
Philemon Kipruto Tanui
Keyword(s):  
Political Theology ◽  
The Body ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
Marginalized Communities ◽  
African Christianity ◽  
African Experience ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
Theological Understanding ◽  
The Impact

The decolonial discourse around Christianity must not avoid dealing with Whiteness if there is going to be any fruitful decolonization. Colonialism and the Western missionary enterprise were not necessarily two distinct and unrelated entries to precolonial Kenya. How then did Christianity, for decades, live side by side with colonialism? In this article, we contend that Colonialism in Kenya could not have been possible without the missionary enterprise activity. The impact of that unholy relationship is felt and sustained in contemporary forms of violence. Unfortunately, critics of such a discourse dismiss the decolonial efforts in African Christianity citing intellectual activism. Such voices of dissent may not be far from the truth as Jesus’ ministry involved elements of activism. Whenever he confronted oppressive institutional structures, he used activism tempered with a degree of pacifism. Looking at the history of historical injustices in Kenya, we see instances whereby missionary Christianity conveniently abetted injustices for colonial structures to sustain the oppression of the indigenous Africans. Such injustices have been unresolved to date because the oppressive structures are still in place in the shape of neocolonialism. Land, for example, is a present source of conflict in Kenya. In the precolonial African ontology, the land was in harmony with the people. For land to be taken away from its owners, a separation of the people from the land had to happen. This was facilitated by a Christian theology that created existential dualism, violently separating the African bodies from their souls and the person from the community. Hence, Christian doctrine that emphasized ‘saving souls’ and ‘personal salvation’ was entrenched. This separation and fragmentation are fundamental to Whiteness. Whiteness universalizes truth, even theology; it puts a face of neutrality that obscures specificity. Such has made the church uncritical of oppressive and unjust political structures. Whiteness realizes that it is hard to enter into something that is in harmony. Therefore, separation needs to happen for Whiteness to succeed. Unfortunately, much of our theological understanding today is tempered with a neocolonial mindset that separates the soul from the body for Christian triumphalism. It anesthetizes the pain of oppression with the eschatological promise of future deliverance. This paper will analyze the impact of Whiteness in Kenya during and after colonialism to demonstrate how the British explorer–settler–missionary alliance ‘oiled’ the religious and economic disenfranchising of African people. Secondly, it proposes a political theology that will restore ‘Shalom’ in a socially, economically, and spiritually broken country. It is such a theology undertaken in Africa that will confront oppressive structures and identify with the marginalized communities in Kenya.

Democracy

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark E. Warren
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
The People ◽  
Collective Decisions ◽  
History Of ◽  
Historical Origins

When compared to various forms of autocracy, monarchy, theocracy, oligarchy, and dictatorship, democracies are better at solving, routinizing, and institutionalizing basic problems of common social life and collective action. This article explores the historical origins of ideas that articulate and justify contemporary democratic theory and practice. First, it surveys the conceptual questions embedded in the concept of democracy inherited from the Greek, demokratia—literally, the power (kratos) of the people (demos), though commonly translated as rule of the people. Embedded in this concept of democracy we find at least four basic classes of questions: Who are “the people”? At what level of organization is “self-government” directed? How is the rule of the people translated into collective decisions and actions? Why is democracy good? The answers to these questions form, as it were, the history of democratic theory from the perspective of what historical democratic ideas and practices might contribute to the present and future of democracy.

Chosen Nation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin W. Goossen
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Weimar Republic ◽  
Religious Affiliation ◽  
Third Reich ◽  
Church Leaders ◽  
The World ◽  
German Identity ◽  
History Of ◽  
Nineteenth And Twentieth Centuries

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the global Mennonite church developed an uneasy relationship with Germany. Despite the religion's origins in the Swiss and Dutch Reformation, as well as its longstanding pacifism, tens of thousands of members embraced militarist German nationalism. This book is a sweeping history of this encounter and the debates it sparked among parliaments, dictatorships, and congregations across Eurasia and the Americas. Offering a multifaceted perspective on nationalism's emergence in Europe and around the world, the book demonstrates how Mennonites' nationalization reflected and reshaped their faith convictions. While some church leaders modified German identity along Mennonite lines, others appropriated nationalism wholesale, advocating a specifically Mennonite version of nationhood. Examining sources from Poland to Paraguay, the book shows how patriotic loyalties rose and fell with religious affiliation. Individuals might claim to be German at one moment but Mennonite the next. Some external parties encouraged separatism, as when the Weimar Republic helped establish an autonomous “Mennonite State” in Latin America. Still others treated Mennonites as quintessentially German; under Hitler's Third Reich, entire colonies benefited from racial warfare and genocide in Nazi-occupied Ukraine. Whether choosing Germany as a national homeland or identifying as a chosen people, called and elected by God, Mennonites committed to collective action in ways that were intricate, fluid, and always surprising.

“The Fumes of Polonism and the Stench of Herzenism”: “Vestnik Zapadnoy Rossii” Against Class Revolution and Clas Reaction

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 ◽  
pp. 118-134
Author(s):  
Aleksandr E. Kotov
Keyword(s):  
Short History ◽  
South West ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
Stereotypical Image

The journal of Ksenofont A. Govorsky “Vestnik Yugo-Zapadnoy I Zapadnoy Rossii” (“South-West and West Russia Herald”) is known in the history of pubic thought as odious and reactionary. However, this stereotypical image needs some revision: the anti-Polish discourse on the pages of the magazine was not so much nationalistic as anti-aristocratic in nature. Considering the “Poles” primarily as carriers of the aristocratic principles, the editorial board of the magazine claimed to protect the broad masses of the people. Throughout its short history, the magazine consistently opposed both revolutionary and aristocratic propaganda. However, the regional limitations of the problems covered in the magazine did not give it the opportunity to reflect on the essential closeness of the revolutionary and reactionary principles. Yu.F. Samarin and I.S. Aksakov – whose conservative-democratic views, on the whole, were close to “Western Russianism”, promoted by the authors of “Vestnik Yugo-Zapadnoy I Zapadnoy Rossii”, managed to reach that goal.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document