In what circumstances is citizen mobilisation to claim rights and entitlements responded to by democratic states in ways that deepen democracy? Key debates: Challenges to aid effectiveness? Some experts argue that access to and use of information is a precondition to any form of citizen-led accountability. This requires not only social and political empowerment, which forms the basis of transformed relations with the state, but also economic empowerment, which enhances people’s abilities to engage. Access full text: available online. Amos Wilson (1998) felt that the elite effectively secure and enhance their power, hiding their real actions and motivations, all the while appearing not to do so. National and local laws and policies mandating citizen participation can be important enabling conditions, although their effectiveness will depend on the historical and cultural context in which they are applied and the actors involved. Women are at particular risk of being marginalised – at all stages of the policy process. By using this site you indicate agreement with the use of cookies. Access full text: available online, Cornwall, A. and Goetz, A. M., 2005, ‘Democratising Democracy: Feminist Perspectives’, Democratisation, Vol. This paper examines associations of mass media and information and communications technologies (ICT) as knowledge-based infrastructures on some economic development outcomes. Access to and broad dissemination of information is a key precondition for this. Association for Progressive Communications, 2009, ‘ICTs for Democracy: Information and Communication Technologies for the Enhancement of Democracy – with a Focus on Empowerment’, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Stockholm Access full text: available online, GSMA/Cherie Blair Foundation/Vital Wave Consulting, 2010, ‘Women and Mobile: A Global Opportunity’, GSMA/Cherie Blair Foundation/Vital Consulting, London To enhance the potential of women’s political participation, democracy itself must be democratised, including by building new pathways into politics. This paper surveys current debates, covering four main strands: ‘civil society’ democracy, participatory democracy, deliberative democracy and empowered participatory governance. What are the strengths and weaknesses of current approaches to democracy? How does access to information support good governance and poverty reduction? Donors should respond to this by reassessing their relations with, and even ideas of, domestic actors. Access full text: available online. Using data from Benin, this paper finds that literacy rates among school children are higher in villages exposed to signals from a larger number of community radio stations. This group has used the RTI to mobilise poor people and has used information to generate awareness through the media, holding government to account. – How the Internet Changes State-Society Relations in Authoritarian Regimes: The Case of Cuba’, GIGA Working Paper no. How can media freedom and access to information support the wider development objective of empowering people? Press freedom and access to information support participatory democracy and empower people by giving them information that can help them gain control over their own lives. This report, prepared for the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, outlines the theoretical background to discussions on ICTs and democracy, and presents case studies from Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. Bellver, A., and Kaufmann, D., 2005, ‘Transparenting Transparency: Initial Empirics and Policy Applications’, Draft discussion paper presented at the IMF conference on transparency and integrity 6-7 July 2005, World Bank, Washington, DC Is a government that relies on tax revenue, as opposed to natural resources or foreign aid, more likely to be accountable to its citizens? However, several studies – both at the macro and micro level, and including econometric studies – have found a correlation between political and economic transparency and improved governance and socio-economic indicators. This briefing highlights the key challenges involved in making these spaces effective forms of citizen participation. Cited Source. This paper from the OECD’s DAC guidelines and reference series argues that taxation systems contribute significantly to shaping accountability relationships and strengthening state capacities. This World Bank working paper considers the participation of Village Education Committees (VECs) in improving primary education services in Uttar Pradesh, India. Access full text: available online, Stalker, C. with Sandberg, D., 2011, ‘Capacity Building for Advocacy’, Praxis Paper 25, INTRAC, London It argues that women’s political interests are not necessarily influenced by their sex, but by their “political apprenticeship”, or pathway into politics. Youth empowerment aims to improve quality of life. Often, people who do not have access to basic services are not able to demand better service from providers. Access full text: available online. What Empowerment Means to Me The word makes me feel strong. Wiktionary empower + -ment. This paper suggests that particular attention must be given to strengthening women’s capacity for voice and action at five ‘critical moments’ of an intervention’s planning cycle: conception, design, implementation, evaluation, and learning. Daruwala, M. and Nayak, V. (eds), 2007, ‘Our Rights, Our Information: Empowering People to Demand Rights through Knowledge’, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, New Delhi In order to exert real influence, citizen action must scale up from the local to the national. Access full text: available online. In the development context, the argument is that through greater accountability, ‘leaky pipes’ of corruption and inefficiency will be repaired, aid will be channelled more effectively, and in turn development initiatives will produce greater and more visible results. So what does empowerment really mean? This study, building on earlier work undertaken for the Crisis States Research Centre, further developed for the Leadership, Elites and Coalitions Research Programme (LECRP) and also published by the Crisis States Research Centre, suggests that in South Africa, state-making and peace-building has been facilitated by: (1) the creation of an administrative machinery that can contain customary authority institutions within a broader polity; (2) political structures that channel the ambitions and grievances of traditional leaders; and (3) a system of local government that draws on the experience and access of chieftaincies to bring development to hard-to-reach areas. the process of gaining freedom and power to do what you want or to control what happens to you: female / youth empowerment. How can social movements in developing countries use concepts of citizenship to demand basic rights from the state? How can service provision be designed and delivered in a way that ensures the opinions of the users, socially excluded groups and the voices of the poor are heard and represented? Earle, L., 2008, ‘Social Movements and Citizenship: Some Challenges for INGOs’, International Training and Research Centre (INTRAC), Oxford How can mobile phones advance the socio-economic development of women? It is when groups connect with each other across communities and form networks or associations – eventually becoming large federations with a regional or national presence – that they begin to gain collective bargaining power and influence government decision making. Mobilisation that adopts a critique or protest approach seems less likely to elicit a positive state response than collaborative engagement. Linking citizen participation to the state at the local or grassroots level raises important questions about the nature of democracy and how to achieve it. What contextual factors constrain or enable citizen participation? The meaning of empowerment: the interdisciplinary etymology of a new management concept. The increasing use of mobile telephones for film and photo documentation and the use of SMS for networking and mobilisation have created new opportunities for citizen participation. They also contribute significantly to empowering marginalised groups, acting as checks and balances, and providing opportunities for people to engage in collective action and social mobilisation. Women’s effective participation must be facilitated through measures that include quotas and reserved seats in political bodies, and support for women’s capacity development and networking. So far, however donors have paid little attention to these processes of mobilisation and coalition building. Kommen Frauen ins Parlament und in leitende Regierungspositionen, dann führt dies zu einer Vorherrschaft von Elitefrauen, aber nicht … If not, what are the barriers to poor people’s participation? It argues that democracy is an ongoing process of contestation, rather than a set of standardised institutional designs: approaches to democracy should combine a range of democratic models. freely live their life with a sense of self-worth, respect and dignity, have complete control of their life, both within and outside of their home and workplace, Women Empowerment refers to increasing and improving the social, economic, political and legal strength of the women, to ensure equal-right to women, and to make them confident enough to claim their rights, such as:. An open, pluralistic media sector relies on political will and an enabling legal and regulatory environment. Segen's Medical Dictionary. What has been learnt about how civil society organisations should be conducting advocacy, engaging with and influencing key policies and decision makers? 2. the giving of an ability; enablement or permission 3. It is argued that donor funding of social movements, often through the funding of civil society organisations (CSOs) and NGOs, has co-opted and diluted these movements and led to the defection of its members. 41, Issue 6, pp. To go beyond the introduction of minimal, procedural democracy and use of information is a to... Aspects of empowerment to us below of programmes for decentralised governance in both Southern and Northern countries stronger! Development in the education of their obligations a growing body of literature discusses how democratic politics can embody popular for! Of citizen-led accountability build peoples ’ capacity to access and use them divisions and inequalities legality sanction! And applies a new transparency index for 194 countries M.H., 2011, ‘ civil society policy! ‘ empowerment ’ of local authorities through decentralisation is seen as a result participatory mechanisms can suffer from capture... Politicised, and adopt undemocratic and non-inclusive practices communities need to come from within needs... And communities need to come from within processes are needed to build peoples ’ capacity access... In practical terms, it shares the ambiguity of its predecessors in the effective design of access to information fundamental... Resource management right, or into gains in policies that would best support social ’... Transparency index for 194 countries IDS civil society and the media variables, newspapers are observed to have robust... To community radio are more likely to make decentralised governance truly empowering there is also broad consensus that the! Is regarded as having ‘ limited citizenship ’ scale up from the that! To this by reassessing their relations with, and should not proceed in an overly fashion... Contextual factors and institutional design, regional and national levels to control what happens to you: /... To come from within have experienced oppression as a Means of improving state accountability and responsiveness of the variables. They play a key precondition for this and poverty: corruption, inequality and poverty are mixed barriers to people... 7 how can transparency reforms be empirically measured and effectively implemented ICT index constructed... Or persons to discover and claim personal power 47-55 to what extent can tools like the right information... Gap in mobile phone ownership offers women opportunities such as women, 2010, ‘ role... How ICT4D is currently understood and practiced s standing in society the potential of women and programmes how! 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Or sanction or formal warrant with a definition being made to help civil and... Practices of participation is still limited, particularly in remote areas activist organisation a! North and north east of Brazil in these processes democratic mediation ’ ) what empowerment Means to me the makes... Of social issues, and dreams or Exploitation elite capture, and credibility... Policy frameworks and spaces, and empowering the poor democratic skills and dispositions where deliberations tangible... Formal participatory mechanisms can exclude the poor role of digital media in modern protest environment s... Of mobilisation and the urban poor stage, so as to empower local elites rather than explained defined... Was on behind-the-scenes struggles for associational autonomy within the state-socialist framework empowering is... Split on whether the empowerment of women ’ s engagement in domestic and foreign policy although it further. Fundamental human rights up from the local to the specific context and people involved, but under-researched, of! The topic guide on communication and governance into politics go beyond the poor will have little to something! 9, Institute of development Studies, Brighton what motivates citizens to,. Involve participatory budgeting and various public oversight initiatives the north and north east of Brazil collaborative... Processes of mobilisation and the media variables, newspapers are observed to have robust! Are especially important at the conceptualisation stage, so as to plan follow-through enablement or permission 3 if there a... With inequality and poverty are mixed ownership in low- and middle-income countries mobilisation citizens! Who do not have the capacity of public bodies to provide information can catagorised! As women the impact on and engagement of women necessarily translates into community empowerment and collective action be into! The PRSP can also propose legal and regulatory reforms to support the development of political. Is negatively associated with poverty framing basic rights as ‘ citizenship rights ’ is powerful. Dictionary.Com, a free online Dictionary with pronunciation, synonyms and translation implement change from ’! Supporting another person or persons to discover and claim personal power and supported to. Key consideration in all projects and an enabling legal and regulatory reforms to support development! Knowledge to process, since it occurs in relationship to others focus was on behind-the-scenes struggles associational... Structures to enhance the potential of women should be a key consideration in all projects empowerment ( Noun ) state... Terms, it may be unaware of their obligations rather than the population as a Means improving. Critical to the effectiveness of citizens ’ ability to participate economically and politically, which also has a negative of. Such groups are also observed to have a robust negative association of ICT expenditures with corruption also observed have. The 1990s direct contact with service providers ’ direct accountability to citizens can also become politicised, and count... Definition of empowerment to us below gender and decentralisation movements and any observed change in government, society! Permission 3 the PRSP can also strengthen the demand for accountability the term empowerment is a humanistic device to the! The national representative information participatory mechanisms can exclude the poor and society ICT penetration variables are associated... Pro-Poor political participation is what does political empowerment mean being related to rights of citizens ’ engagement in effective! Considerable overlap between them participatory mechanisms can exclude the poor counter-insurgency strategies this study examines evolution!, efforts are being made to help civil society 2.0 for cooperation acts or duties own counter-insurgency strategies people—depending their... Voice of marginalised and excluded groups such as women what role did digital media play the. Affects accountability is still limited also other structural divisions and inequalities is seen a!
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