scholarly journals Women’s Political Empowerment through Local Government in the Patriarchal Society of Pakistan

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Niaz Ahmad ◽  
Abida Bano ◽  
Ashfaq Rehman
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
The Political ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Political Awareness ◽  
Political Empowerment ◽  
Political Status ◽  
Institutional Forces

The democratic local government empowers community members to decide their destiny. However, it bears different meanings for different people in different socio-cultural settings. This study assesses the intended outcome of the local government system, revived by General Pervez Musharraf’s regime in Pakistan since 2001 regarding women’s political empowerment. In the Devolution Plan 2001, the gender quotas of 33% have been reserved for women in all the three tiers of local government at the district level. However, the existing informal institutional forces like socio-cultural and religious practices did not let women to fully participate and achieve the desired political status. Local women’s representatives have not been able to participate meaningfully in the policymaking at the local level. Therefore, this study suggests revising the design of the local government with a focus on eligibility criteria for the candidates. Moreover, to ensure the political empowerment of women, policymakers should focus on other alternatives like women education, political awareness, and monitoring by the civil society and media.

scholarly journals Impact of the Informal Institutional Forces on the Local Government Elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-70
Author(s):  
Niaz Ahmad ◽  
Abida Bano ◽  
Ashfaq Rehman
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Formal Institutions ◽  
Political Awareness ◽  
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ◽  
Institutional Forces ◽  
Grass Root ◽  
Grass Root Level

Local government is visualised as a tool for promoting political participation, downward accountability, which consequently leads to the establishment of good governance at the grass-root level. In the establishment of the local government system, the main ingredients of good governance, such as participation and downward accountability, reckon almost on the nature of elections. However, societies marked with strong cultural and socially embedded informal institutions, already existed from generations, hinder formal institutions to play its intended role. In Pakistan, some socio-cultural features like gender, ascribed status, and economic background of the individuals influence the entire process of elections adversely. This paper attempts to assess the processes of the local government elections in District Karak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan. It aims to highlight the deterministic role of other informal institutional forces that affect the outcome of local elections. It investigates, how the process of local government elections is influenced in Pakistan and how do people decide whom to vote for in these elections. The study argues that policymakers should work on strengthening the formal institutions of elections through measures such as monitoring by media, referendums, auditing, evaluations, education, and political awareness as alternatives to ensure good governance at the local level in Pakistan.

Experience with Managerial and Political Reform Measures at the Local Level in Slovakia

2016 ◽  
pp. 135-160
Author(s):  
Daniel Klimovský
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Political Reform ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Participatory Budgeting ◽  
Main Attention ◽  
Performance Budgeting ◽  
Direct Elections

This chapter is focused on the Slovak experience with decentralization and relating political and managerial innovations. A main goal is to analyze both managerial and political innovations which have been implemented since 1990, when a democratic local government system with directly elected local government bodies was renewed. An additional aim is to show not only intended outcomes but also the outcomes which can be described as unintended. Main attention is especially paid to inter-municipal cooperation, performance budgeting, participatory budgeting, direct elections of mayors, local referenda, etc. However, attention is paid also to those innovations which have never been implemented in Slovakia, e.g. gender quotas or territorial consolidation (amalgamation).

scholarly journals Role of Political Education in Improving Public Participation in Election: The Case ofWest Sumatera Governor Election

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4.9) ◽  
pp. 104
Author(s):  
Pebriyenn . ◽  
Azwar Ananda ◽  
Nurhizrah Gistituati
Keyword(s):  
Public Participation ◽  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Political Education ◽  
The Political ◽  
Leadership Qualities ◽  
Political Awareness ◽  
West Sumatra ◽  
Election Commission

This article describes the role of political education to improve public participation in the election of West Sumatra governor. The governor election is expected to be able to raise the level ofoptimism in order to improve the leadership qualities of local government, and the spirit of political education for citizen. This study applied descriptive qualitative method by using interviews and documentations as research instruments. Based on the documentation instrument, it showed the statistics of permanent voters who voted in the 2015 for governor election was 59.58% or 3,489,743 permanent voters. It was implied that 40.42% or 1,410,680 voters did not take their votes. This low level of public participation could be a sign that democracy has not effectively been implemented at the local level. The researchers concluded that the socialization activities of Governor election, as one of responsibilities of General Election Commission, have failed to increase the political awareness of the society.  

scholarly journals Clientelism, Partyarchy and Democratic Backsliding: A Case Study of Local Government Elections in Bangladesh

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-91
Author(s):  
Abu Elias Sarker ◽  
Faraha Nawaz
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
The Political ◽  
Institutional Environments ◽  
Effective Role ◽  
Grassroots Level

In a developing country like Bangladesh, the devolved local government system is widely recognized as one of the key institutional forms for the citizen-centric public service delivery system and ensuring democratic governance at the grassroots level. However, the democratic nature of local governments and their effective role in rendering services are contingent upon the political and institutional environments of the country. Competitive electoral process is key to local democratic governance. The purpose of this article is to analyze the implications of contemporary political order and institutional environments for the proper functioning of the Union Parishad (council), the lowest tier of the local government system in Bangladesh. More specifically, this study will reflect on how political clientelism, partyarchy and institutional environments have stymied competitive electoral politics at the local level which may result in democratic backsliding.

The Potential of the Main Political Parties in Contemporary Russia

2021 ◽  
pp. 75-83
Author(s):  
Vitaly N. Ivanov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Party System ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Political Regime ◽  
The Political ◽  
Ruling Elite ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Opposition Parties

The object of the research is the modern party system in Russia. The aim of the article is to study the organizational, financial, and political potential of the main parliamentary political parties: Edinaya Rossiya (United Russia (UR)), CPRF, LDPR, and Spravedlivaya Rossiya (A Just Russia). The comparative analysis of party resources revealed a significant disparity between the potential of UR and the opposition parties. The latter are inferior to the UR in terms of the number of members and the development of the organizational structure. The total number of members and local organizations of these parties is one-third of UR's indicators. The lack of a developed infrastructure for the opposition parties preserves their limited representation and influence at the local level of public power. The financial potential of the parties is formed mainly by state funding and donations from sponsors. Today, four parliamentary parties are eligible for state support. The share of public finance in their budgets is more than half of all revenues. They also receive the bulk of donations, the size of which is limited by law and is official in nature. It can be argued that Russia has formed a mechanism that allows the state to support parties without allowing the establishment of monopoly influence on their activities by individuals and elite groups. The political potential of the parties is determined by the level of their representation in state and local government bodies. Today it is dominated by UR. Its parliamentary fractions actually control the legislative branch of power at the federal and regional levels. Together with the presidential structures of power, UR also ensures the election of presidential creatures to the posts of heads of regions. Party members today form the basis of the governor's corps, with a single representation from other political parties. UR's organizations include more than half of deputies and heads of municipalities, ensuring its influence on the local government system. The high level of dominance of UR and the limited potential of the opposition parties is an important condition for the stability of the existing political regime. UR's significant opportunities allow the ruling elite to maintain and strengthen their positions: cut off the forces of the radical opposition from power, control the legislative process providing legal support for decisions of the government and the head of state, consolidate the federal and regional elite, ensuring the rotation of elites and coordination of their interests. In these circumstances, the parties of the parliamentary opposition are important for preserving the democratic nature of the political process. They do not question the dominant role of UR, offer limited competition to it, and do not have the potential to really influence key political decisions.

scholarly journals Provincial–regional ANC politics in the Northern Cape: corruption or everyday informal practices?

2017 ◽  
pp. 96-118
Author(s):  
Thina Nzo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
The Political ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Council Decision ◽  
Patronage Politics ◽  
Northern Cape

Research over the last decade on local government in South Africa has highlighted that some municipal councils under the political leadership of the Africa National Congress (ANC) have shown weak political leadership, coupled with strong patronage systems, rent-seeking and corruption which have had an impact on the institutional functionality of municipalities in South Africa. Although patronage politics have been predominantly used to analyse the dynamics of post-apartheid local government ANC politics and councillor representation, this prevents us from understanding the representational focus of ANC councillors in decision-making processes. This paper offers an ethnographic insight into experiences of ANC councillors and the political complexities involved in council decision-making. Using ethnographic research, this paper will analyse how a political decision by the ANC provincial party, which was supported by the ANC regional party at local level – to erect a statue of Nelson Mandela in one of the municipalities in the Northern Cape – generated tensions amongst ANC councillors who strongly viewed their primary role as promoters of better ‘service delivery’ rather than approving the allocation of scarce municipal resources for erecting a statue. The paper reveals how the dominant presence of ANC sub-regional structures at local level contribute to the complex interaction of both ANC party political and municipal organisational rules and norms that influence and shape councillors’ choices in decision-making.  

A Tradition Co-opted: Participatory Development and Authoritarian Rule in Sudan

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Laure Mahé
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Participatory Development ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Authoritarian Rule ◽  
Sudan I

AbstractThe concept of participation is a cornerstone of development and democracy discourses, but studies on participatory development rarely examine the political regimes those policies are embedded in. Yet, in authoritarian contexts, participation is ambiguous, potentially threatening—as it can be connected to democratic ideals—and it also can be used as a resource, a tool for domination. Through an analysis of participatory development projects implemented in Sudan, I explore how power relations are renegotiated at the local level. Relying on data collected during fieldwork in Khartoum and the state of North Kordofan, where the projects are located, I highlight the disconnect between the discourse surrounding the participatory devices, which establishes an horizontal relationship between citizens and the local government, and the actual practices that strengthen the latter's power. In doing so, the article challenges a linear, top-down conception of authoritarian power and reveals the tensions that exist between institutional levels.

scholarly journals Samorząd lokalny na Ukrainie: forma, która nie stała się treścią

Politeja ◽  
1970 ◽  
Vol 12 (2 (34/1)) ◽  
pp. 93-106
Author(s):  
Myrosława Lendel ◽  
Switłana Buła
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
The Political ◽  
Local Democracy ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Political Discourses ◽  
Power Construction ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Government ◽  
Ukrainian Crisis

Local government in Ukraine: the form without content Ukrainian crisis of 2013/2014 that is perceived as Euromaidan can be explained, besides other external reasons, also in the terms of the mental and societal conflict between formally democratic, but non‑working legal norms, and the clientele, even feudal political practice. The ideal of democracy can be tested on the local level where the government structures are physically closer to citizens that can use the mechanisms of the direct and other forms of democracy. But in Ukraine the scenario of the rapid and radical transition towards the principles of the local democracy that was implemented in some Central‑European countries was not realized because of the inherited system of the centralized governance, the administrative and territorial division, lack of the motivated elite, non‑activist type of the political culture. The existing legal environment for functioning of the elected councils and mayors did not stimulated the efficient development of the local communities, as well as the faith of the citizens in the role of the political decision‑making, that is the core of the local democracy. Set of the political discourses that are vital in the modern Ukraine and connected with the question of the political system renovation is centered around the decentralization of power, construction of the new scheme of the administrative division of Ukrainian regions. The adoption of the new Constitution in the pair with the political activism of Ukrainian can be a starting point for the construction of the vital local government filled with the sense of democracy.

scholarly journals The Main Tendencies of the Political Development of the Indian System of Local Self-Government after the Adoption of the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-192
Author(s):  
N N Emelyanova
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Political Development ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Local Level ◽  
The Political ◽  
Constitutional Amendments ◽  
Regional Parties

The article is devoted to actual tendencies of development of local government system in India after gaining of the constitutional status. Considered such topics as the phenomenon of new leadership at the local level in the context of overcoming the traditional distribution of political power; feminization of panchayats; inf luence of regional parties on the activities of local government.

Experience With Managerial and Political Reform Measures at the Local Level in Slovakia

2020 ◽  
pp. 1301-1326
Author(s):  
Daniel Klimovský
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Political Reform ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Participatory Budgeting ◽  
Main Attention ◽  
Performance Budgeting ◽  
Direct Elections

This chapter is focused on the Slovak experience with decentralization and relating political and managerial innovations. A main goal is to analyze both managerial and political innovations which have been implemented since 1990, when a democratic local government system with directly elected local government bodies was renewed. An additional aim is to show not only intended outcomes but also the outcomes which can be described as unintended. Main attention is especially paid to inter-municipal cooperation, performance budgeting, participatory budgeting, direct elections of mayors, local referenda, etc. However, attention is paid also to those innovations which have never been implemented in Slovakia, e.g. gender quotas or territorial consolidation (amalgamation).

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