Nick Morgan: Participation, Deliberation and Community Activism...
School of Modern Languages Research Seminar Series 2010/11
Location: Old Library Building, Research Beehive, room 2.20
Time/Date: 28th October 2010, 16:00 - 17:00
...in Bogota and Caracas
Contemporary political rhetoric refers to democracy in reverential tones as a fundamental good, even though the exact meaning of the concept is rarely debated outside of the academy. Nonetheless, observers in many states have noted a growing “democratic deficit” as declining turnouts in national elections seem to suggest that representative democracy itself is in crisis. In response, participatory democracy has been promoted as a way of involving a supposedly disaffected citizenry in decision making, particularly at a local level.
This attempt to “reorganise consent”, however, has been conceived in radically different ways. For administrations intent on implementing neoliberal policies, participatory democracy has been viewed as a way of rolling back the state by devolving its functions to citizens, while for governments aiming at combating social exclusion it plays a key role in the attempt to democratise the delivery of public services. In the Global South in particular, participatory programmes have been aimed at including previously marginalised groups in the political process whilst avoiding the clientelism and corruption that have so often characterised the relationship between relatively rich political parties and impoverished citizens.
This paper examines these and other issues from the perspective of two case studies. Bogotá and Caracas share problems of unplanned and largely uncontrollable urbanization which have led to the development of slum areas characterised by inadequate infrastructure, substandard housing, unevenly distributed public services and high unemployment. The spread of social unrest, violence and crime in these localities has turned them into ghettoes, stigmatised by the middle classes as “territories of fear”. Over the last decade, however, both cities have seen a rapid increase in participatory programmes designed to involve the inhabitants of these vulnerable communities in solving their own problems. This paper compares the development of the Venezuelan consejos comunales (“community councils”) with the proliferation of participatory spaces in Colombia. As it analyzes these very different approaches it explores their impact on local communities and reflects on the role of participatory programmes within the broader political context of both states.
Published: 24th September 2010