Between Cooptation and Surveillance

Varieties of Civic Monitoring in Spain

Bibliographic Data

ID21871986
AuthorsAlessandra Lo Piccolo (0000-0002-6467-5336, University of Bologna, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume15
Issue29
Pages63-74
Publication date2024-07-23
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocietàMutamentoPolitica (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2038-3150 • E-ISSN: 2038-3150
PublisherFirenze University Press (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.36253/smp-15498
OpenAlexW4400924846
LanguageEN
References cited25

Civic monitoring is a democratic practice that allows citizens to hold accountable powerholders and enhance the accountability of democratic systems. To date, democratic theorists and collective action scholars have stressed the relevance of monitoring by NGOs, social movement organizations, and alternative media to increase civil society’s watchdog potential, filter publicly relevant information, and ensure the inclusion of new voices and the representation of new instances in democratic arenas. However, little is known about how such diverse collective actors leverage monitoring practices, particularly in interaction with monitored actors and their constituencies. Focusing on the Spanish case (2011-2021), often considered a prominent example of monitory democracy, the study employs Situational Analysis and builds on semi-structured interviews and document analysis to discuss differences within the Spanish monitoring field. The results contribute to ongoing discussions on the hybridization of civic efforts and classifications of civic monitoring initiatives

Accountability · Civil society · Collective action · Democracy · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Situational ethics · Sociology · E-Government and Public Services · Law · Public Administration · Public Policy and Administration Research · Social Media and Politics

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Open DOIOpen Access