TOWARDS LOCALISM: PROVIDING FOR GRASS-ROOTS CITIZENS’ ‘VOICE’ INPOLICY AND DECISION-MAKING FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

By

Mauruce Dassah., Uganda, Africa

Abstract

‘Participation’ has become a buzzword in local governance discourse alongside ‘voice’, ‘inclusion’ and ‘responsiveness’. Declining civic participation, alienation of grassroots-level citizens from mainstream decision-making in representative democracy and increasing distance between citizens and government are democratic deficits globally. These factors make direct democratic participation of citizens in local governanceessential for sustainable development. Advocates of public participation for sustainable local development are convinced an engaged grassroots citizenry is better than a passive one. Given the opportunity, grassroots citizens can actively engage in making and shaping policies directly affecting their own lives and, thus, be makers and shapers of policy, rather than play the passive role of users and choosers of interventions or public services. Arnstein’s ‘ladder of participation’ (1969) and Burns, Hambleton and Hoggett’s ‘ladder of citizen empowerment’ (1994) show that participation involves a continuum of various degrees of power and powerlessness. In many advanced democracies, public participation in local affairs is deemed sacrosanct, but in emerging democracies, particularly in Africa, participation often comes across as a benevolent gesture bestowed on less powerful citizens by the more powerful. This theoretical paper argues that genuine public participation of grass-roots citizens is vital for sustainable local developmentand requires a localism agendawith empowerment as its ultimate goal. Consequently, local governments need to engage citizens using participatory methods that resonate with the higher levels of Arnstein’s ‘ladder of participation’ and Burns’, Hambleton and Hoggett’s ‘ladder of citizen empowerment’. Through literature analysis, the paper pinpoints the nexus between public participation and sustainable development and discusses key facets of public participation,paving the way for a discussion of three innovative participation approaches with potential for yielding sustainable development outcomes: participatory budgeting, citizens’ juries and consensus conferences.

Abstract

‘Participation’ has become a buzzword in local governance discourse alongside ‘voice’, ‘inclusion’ and ‘responsiveness’. Declining civic participation, alienation of grassroots-level citizens from mainstream decision-making in representative democracy and increasing distance between citizens and government are democratic deficits globally. These factors make direct democratic participation of citizens in local governanceessential for sustainable development. Advocates of public participation for sustainable local development are convinced an engaged grassroots citizenry is better than a passive one. Given the opportunity, grassroots citizens can actively engage in making and shaping policies directly affecting their own lives and, thus, be makers and shapers of policy, rather than play the passive role of users and choosers of interventions or public services. Arnstein’s ‘ladder of participation’ (1969) and Burns, Hambleton and Hoggett’s ‘ladder of citizen empowerment’ (1994) show that participation involves a continuum of various degrees of power and powerlessness. In many advanced democracies, public participation in local affairs is deemed sacrosanct, but in emerging democracies, particularly in Africa, participation often comes across as a benevolent gesture bestowed on less powerful citizens by the more powerful. This theoretical paper argues that genuine public participation of grass-roots citizens is vital for sustainable local developmentand requires a localism agendawith empowerment as its ultimate goal. Consequently, local governments need to engage citizens using participatory methods that resonate with the higher levels of Arnstein’s ‘ladder of participation’ and Burns’, Hambleton and Hoggett’s ‘ladder of citizen empowerment’. Through literature analysis, the paper pinpoints the nexus between public participation and sustainable development and discusses key facets of public participation,paving the way for a discussion of three innovative participation approaches with potential for yielding sustainable development outcomes: participatory budgeting, citizens’ juries and consensus conferences.