Ilyana Albarran - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Ilyana Albarran
formation of citizen committees? Have decentralization policies that require the creation of citi... more formation of citizen committees? Have decentralization policies that require the creation of citizen committees met their objectives? By answering these questions, I hope to contribute to the literature on participatory democracy and decentralization, and simultaneously enhance knowledge about the performance of municipalities. It is important to understand the effects of these reforms, if any, and their implications for the performance of municipalities. The broad value of this work lies in the interplay between decentralization and citizen participation and how this affects good governance. Over the past decades governance has become a popular topic of discussion and study. Authors, such as Box, have preferred to use the word governance rather than government or administration because the term "include[s] the entire range of activities of citizens, elected representatives, and public professionals as they create and implement public policy in communities" (1998). However, the definition of governance varies. For example, according to the World Bank, governance is "the process and institutions through which decisions are made and authority in a country is exercised" (n.d.: 3 cf. Grindle 2007: 556-557). According to the United Nations Development Program, governance "comprises the mechanisms, processes and institutions through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise their legal rights, meet their obligations and mediate their differences" (1997: 12, cf. ibid.). Other definitions of governance include: 'how the institutions, rules, and systems of the state-the executive, legislature, judiciary and military-operate at central and local level and how the state relates to individual citizens, civil society and the private sector' (DFID 2001:11, note a, cf. ibid.). 'The ability of government to develop an efficient, effective, and accountable public management process that is open to citizen participation and that strengthens rather than weakens a democratic system of government' (USAID 2005: 1 cf. ibid.). 'The formation of stewardship of the formal and informal rules that regulate the public realm, the arena in which state as well as economic and societal actors interact to make decisions' (Hyden et al. 2004: 16 cf. ibid.). Although Huillet-in the forward of the book "Participatory governance: planning, conflict mediation, and public decision-making in civil society"-explains that the term governance describes an intricate composite of organizational mechanisms, administrative processes, and ever-changing relations and interactions between government and non-profit organizations, citizens, and the general private sector, put simply, governance can be defined as being "about processes of making decisions" (Lovan, Murray and Shaffer 2004, xvi). "In other words, [governance] is concerned with processes focusing on the distribution of public responsibilities across multiple stakeholders" (ibid.). Furthermore, governance is a term that focuses on the "fundamental question of how the processes of democracy (citizen involvement, decision-making procedures and administrative functions) can be adapted to help countries resolve the complex issues with which they are challenged" (ibid.). Although, non-profit organizations and the private sector influence the decisionmaking process of government, increasingly, studies have begun to focus more on the role of citizens. However, until recently, citizen participation in government has been limited to indirect participation through voting (Nabatchi 2012). In democratization efforts, the "focus of citizen participation was on gaining and guaranteeing the rights of all citizens to vote for representation in government" (Keyssar 2000 cf. Nabatchi 2012).
Public Organization Review, 2012
In the mist of the economic recession and with worries of a coming energy and food crisis, the ne... more In the mist of the economic recession and with worries of a coming energy and food crisis, the need to protect the most vulnerable in society has become a pressing issue. In this context, government policies aimed at lowering unemployment levels have become a top priority. However, in the struggle to secure jobs, countries often overlook the need to secure
formation of citizen committees? Have decentralization policies that require the creation of citi... more formation of citizen committees? Have decentralization policies that require the creation of citizen committees met their objectives? By answering these questions, I hope to contribute to the literature on participatory democracy and decentralization, and simultaneously enhance knowledge about the performance of municipalities. It is important to understand the effects of these reforms, if any, and their implications for the performance of municipalities. The broad value of this work lies in the interplay between decentralization and citizen participation and how this affects good governance. Over the past decades governance has become a popular topic of discussion and study. Authors, such as Box, have preferred to use the word governance rather than government or administration because the term "include[s] the entire range of activities of citizens, elected representatives, and public professionals as they create and implement public policy in communities" (1998). However, the definition of governance varies. For example, according to the World Bank, governance is "the process and institutions through which decisions are made and authority in a country is exercised" (n.d.: 3 cf. Grindle 2007: 556-557). According to the United Nations Development Program, governance "comprises the mechanisms, processes and institutions through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise their legal rights, meet their obligations and mediate their differences" (1997: 12, cf. ibid.). Other definitions of governance include: 'how the institutions, rules, and systems of the state-the executive, legislature, judiciary and military-operate at central and local level and how the state relates to individual citizens, civil society and the private sector' (DFID 2001:11, note a, cf. ibid.). 'The ability of government to develop an efficient, effective, and accountable public management process that is open to citizen participation and that strengthens rather than weakens a democratic system of government' (USAID 2005: 1 cf. ibid.). 'The formation of stewardship of the formal and informal rules that regulate the public realm, the arena in which state as well as economic and societal actors interact to make decisions' (Hyden et al. 2004: 16 cf. ibid.). Although Huillet-in the forward of the book "Participatory governance: planning, conflict mediation, and public decision-making in civil society"-explains that the term governance describes an intricate composite of organizational mechanisms, administrative processes, and ever-changing relations and interactions between government and non-profit organizations, citizens, and the general private sector, put simply, governance can be defined as being "about processes of making decisions" (Lovan, Murray and Shaffer 2004, xvi). "In other words, [governance] is concerned with processes focusing on the distribution of public responsibilities across multiple stakeholders" (ibid.). Furthermore, governance is a term that focuses on the "fundamental question of how the processes of democracy (citizen involvement, decision-making procedures and administrative functions) can be adapted to help countries resolve the complex issues with which they are challenged" (ibid.). Although, non-profit organizations and the private sector influence the decisionmaking process of government, increasingly, studies have begun to focus more on the role of citizens. However, until recently, citizen participation in government has been limited to indirect participation through voting (Nabatchi 2012). In democratization efforts, the "focus of citizen participation was on gaining and guaranteeing the rights of all citizens to vote for representation in government" (Keyssar 2000 cf. Nabatchi 2012).
Public Organization Review, 2012
In the mist of the economic recession and with worries of a coming energy and food crisis, the ne... more In the mist of the economic recession and with worries of a coming energy and food crisis, the need to protect the most vulnerable in society has become a pressing issue. In this context, government policies aimed at lowering unemployment levels have become a top priority. However, in the struggle to secure jobs, countries often overlook the need to secure