Challenging Elite Understandings of Citizen Participation in South Africa
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6213615 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Julia Plessing (University of Johannesburg, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 73-91 |
| Publication date | 2017-01-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Politikon (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0258-9346 • E-ISSN: 1470-1014 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02589346.2017.1276010 |
| OpenAlex | W2568275449 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 36 |
This paper explores why official participation mechanisms and donor induced participation programmes do not work for ordinary citizens to make their voices heard in local governance. Referring to the South African context, it is argued firstly, that, as technologies of governance, participatory mechanisms do not increase local democracy because they are not designed to do so. Where democratic participation seeks to increase citizens' influence in decision-making and change power relations, participation as technology seeks to improve programmes' effectiveness. The latter will not be able to dislodge the power hierarchies prevalent in the local government space. Secondly, development agencies and government work within predetermined results-based logics, where lines of accountability lead to donor countries or heads of department rather than back to the citizen. Finally, participatory technologies have persisted to inspire governing elites, as 'participation' serves as powerful metaphor to keep the narrative of the active citizen in local governance alive, and to maintain partnerships with international donor agencies
Accountability · Citizen journalism · Context (archaeology · Corporate governance · Democracy · Economics · Elite · Government (linguistics · Local government · Management · Narrative · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Public relations · Sociology · Work (physics · Engineering · Foucault, Power, and Ethics · Law · Legal Issues in South Africa · Public Administration · South African History and Culture
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Democracy as an Open-ended Utopia
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A Rentier Theory of Subnational Regimes
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Economic foundations of subnational authoritarianism
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Rethinking 'Citizenship' in the Postcolony
The origins and practice of participatory rural appraisal
Is Good Policy Unimplementable? Reflections on the Ethnography of Aid Policy and Practice
Framing participation
The Varieties of Civic Experience
Governing the Borderlands
New Democratic Spaces at the Grassroots? Popular Participation in Latin American Local Governments
The Politics of the Governed
Moving the State
Rethinking South Africa's Transition
Beyond Legibility
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,5 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2024 (3) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |