Mobilizing for Democracy - Citizen Action and the Politics of Public Participation (Paperback)

This book is about how ordinary citizens and their organizations mobilize to deepen democracy. A collection of new empirical case studies from Angola, Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa illustrate how alternative forms of political mobilization -- such as protests, social participation, activism, litigation and lobbying -- engage with the formal institutions of representative democracy in ways that constitute the very essence of democratic politics and not, as many authors suggest, an indication of its failure. No other volume has brought together examples from such a broad Southern spectrum and covering such a diversity of actors: rural and urban dwellers, transnational activists, religious groups, politicians and social leaders. The cases illuminate the crucial contribution that citizen mobilization makes to democratization and the building of state institutions. Yet neither are these movements driven purely by idealism. They cases also reflect often the uneasy relationship between citizens and the institutions that are designed to foster their political participation. This book suggest ways to confront these challenges by recognizing -- as so many ordinary citizens already have -- that more just and equitable democratic systems can only emerge from more just and equitable societies.

General

Imprint:	Zed Books Ltd
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Series:	Claiming Citizenship
Release date:	October 2010
First published:	October 2010
Editors:	Vera Schatten Coelho • Bettina von Liers
Contributors:	Lisa Thompson • Naila Kabeer • Arilson Favareto • Celestine Nyamu-Musembi • Duncan Okello • Idaci Ferreira • Jibrin Ibrahim • Alex Shankland
Dimensions:	216 x 138 x 16mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	287
ISBN-13:	978-1-84813-446-1
Categories:	Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political structure & processes > Democracy Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political activism > General Promotions
LSN:	1-84813-446-0
Barcode:	9781848134461

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