Masters in Public Administration - MPA / It is often argued that public participation is the cornerstone of constitutional democracy especially in countries such as South Africa with the history of segregation which was characterised by the exclusion of the majority of citizens from the decision-making processes of the state based on race, class and gender. As such, following the introduction of the various pieces of legislation in 1994, the dominant narrative was that the progressive laws that were passed would serve as a ‘panacea’ to the challenges of participatory governance in South Africa. It was inconceivable that 25 years into democracy, South Africa would still be grappling with the concept of public participation and the extent to which citizens could influence, direct and own decisions made by and with government especially at a local level. This study assessed the state of public participation in the Western Cape focusing on Beaufort Municipality in the Central Karoo District. It argued that public participation is a prerequisite for democratic governance and that the state could be deemed illegitimate if it does not prioritize the involvement of communities in its affairs. In this context, a particular focus was placed on the effectiveness of the ward committee system (as state sponsored mechanisms of public participation) in enhancing participatory democracy in Beaufort West Municipality. It refuted assumptions on the institutional arrangements made in the legislative framework governing public participation and ward committees – identifying and outlining some of the unanticipated consequences of these pieces of legislation. The study used qualitative research methods to collect data. Primary and secondary data was gathered to assess the state of public participation in the Western Cape with specific reference on the effectiveness of the ward committee system and the role of legislative and regulatory framework governing public participation, the institutional architecture and the roles of various stakeholders involved in public participation. The primary data was gathered through structured interviews and questionnaires while the secondary data was collected the analysis of the literature on public participation and ward committees including municipal reports, guidelines on public participation, legislation and policy frameworks. The research found that it is precisely the state sanctioned ward committee system that has contributed to the collapse of public participation in South Africa. The ward committee system was identified as a ‘poisoned chalice’ - so compromised that it has become an instrument to legitimise predetermined decisions of the politically connected elite, a rubber stamp platform to comply with the policy and legislative framework. To address this problem, the study recommended a number of measures and interventions that could be introduced which entails the reconfiguration and overhaul of the legislative framework governing public participation and ward committees including the review of the role of politicians in public participation, training and capacity building, allocation of dedicated budget for public participation etc.

D’une manière générale, les théories du développement ne constituent pas seulement des modèles explicatifs du changement social mais représentent avant tout des modèles théoriques fortement imprégnés d’idéologie justifiant les axes d’action des programmes politiques de développement. Dans un premier temps, les théories proposaient aux pays du « Sud » le rattrapage du retard ou le gommage de l’ordre historique de domination internationale comme solution à l’énigme du développement. Dans un second temps, à la fin des années 1970, elles constituaient le moyen de garantir une forte croissance économique pour les Etats aussi bien du « Nord » que du « Sud » par l’application des PAS. A partir des années 1990, un nouveau corpus de théories du développement propose une forme d’action politique se distinguant des ajustements structurels, le développement local. Celui-ci se décline en trois grands axes d’actions : - le retour du politique en tant qu’institution de régulation économique et sociale à travers les idées de gouvernance et de démocratie participative ;- l’optimisation de la croissance économique et des services sociaux par la régulation politique ;- le développement local en tant que niveau de production et de régulation du politique, du social et de l’économique.Ainsi, que cela soit à l’échelle des théories scientifiques ou des programmes politiques, ces trois axes constituent les conditions sine qua non du changement social. Mais le fait de suivre ces axes conduit-il au développement local ? C’est à cette question que nous nous sommes efforcé de répondre par la mise en perspective de pratiques de développement local au niveau d’une ville d’un pays dit « du Sud », Bamako au Mali, et au niveau d’une ville d’un pays dit « du Nord », Marseille en France. / Overall, development theories are not only explanatory models of social change but are primarily theoretical models strongly imbued with ideology justifying the action axes of program development policies. Initially, the theories proposed for the 'southern' countries to “take off” or to wipe the historical order of international dominance as a solution to the riddle of development. In a second step, in the late 1970s, they were the means of ensuring strong economic growth for “North” and “South” countries by the application of SAPs. From the 1990s, a new set of theories of development proposes a form of political action distinct from structural adjustment: local development. It comes in three main action axes:- the return of politics as an institution of economic and social regulation through the ideas of governance and participatory democracy ;- optimization of economic growth and social services by political regulation ;- local development as a production and a regulation level of the politic, the social and the economic.Thus, whether at the level of scientific theories or political agendas, these three axes are the prerequisites of social change. But must these prerequisites be followed to lead the Local Development? This is the question that we tried to address through the perspective of local development practices in a city of a “South” country, Bamako, Mali, and in a city of a “North” country, Marseille, France.

Magister Legum - LLM / An environment, which is not dangerous to the health or well-being of individuals, is every South African's basic Human right.1 In addition.it is every South African's basic human right to have the environment protected for the · "benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures".2 These measures must aim at preventing pollution and ecological degradation. The measures must further advance. conservation, and guarantee ecologically sustainable development and use of natural .· resources. 3 Stakeholders, such as, non-governmental, organizations (henceforth NGOs), and the community as a whole have important roles to play.4

E-petitions, or electronic petitions, are a relatively new form of political engagement that allow individuals to voice their opinions and concerns directly to their government. This case study examines the use of e-petitions in a Swedish municipality, with a focus on the experiences of both petitioners and policy makers. Through interviews with local officials, participants, and a review of relevant documents, this study explores the motivations behind the adoption of e-petitions, the processes by which they are implemented and managed, and the outcomes that have resulted from their use. Through a review of the literature and case studies, this essay explores the potential of e-petitions to facilitate meaningful dialogue between citizens and policy makers, as well as the challenges that must be addressed in order for them to achieve their full potential. The findings of this study suggest that e-petitions have had a positive impact on the municipality's democratic processes, providing a convenient and accessible way for citizens to engage with their government and have their voices heard. Overall, this case study offers valuable insights into the potential of e-petitions to facilitate citizen participation in local democracy.

No description available.

Youth today are participating in political and civic life in new and emerging ways -- some positive and some negative -- but there is scant evidence that these new forms of engagement spawn enduring forms of participation to enhance democratization at all levels in society. How, then, do we educate for democracy and for what type of democracy, especially in a society that struggles with persistent inequality and injustice? Universities clearly have an important role—and, some insist, an obligation—in guiding the so-called millennial generation into civic pathways that can produce meaningful advancement of democracy. Adopting a participatory democratic theoretical framework, this work presents a case-history study of and survey data from a civic education program at Drexel University, in Philadelphia, PA, an institution that strives to be the “most civically engaged university” in the U.S, according to its President. In addition, and arguably equally important, this study examines the assumptions and conceptions students bring to the table when they are first exposed to civic education in college. How do students conceptualize democracy and civic and political engagement now and in the future? On what foundation are we building concepts of civic education for democracy when we design curricula? Do students view democracy in participatory democratic ways and does Drexel educate students for a participatory democracy, albeit implicitly? The study finds both the students and the program embrace participatory democratic norms, strengthening normative theoretical arguments that participatory democratic theory is increasingly relevant, useful and salient to understand and nourish democracy in the U.S. today. / Political Science

Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar a gestão pública das políticas educacionais no Brasil para efetivação democrática do direito à educação. Demonstra sua influência para a efetivação do direito humano à democracia cognitiva e, por consequência, para a efetivação do direito humano à democracia participativa. Verifica tecnologias jurídicas necessárias para institucionalizar a participação e a articulação entre instâncias decisórias locais e internacionais a partir do cotidiano escolar. Contribui com um índice de gestão democrática que possa avaliar e efetivar os condicionantes estruturais internos e externos da intencionalidade democrática do ambiente escolar, incluindo um condicionante de solidariedade. Os resultados foram obtidos considerando-se o campo de pesquisa da ciência jurídica em diálogo com as ciências da educação e da gestão pública. Foram selecionados métodos de procedimento monográfico por revisão bibliográfica, interpretação de normas administrativas e jurídicas, além de pesquisa empírica por entrevistas em escolas públicas da mesorregião do Norte Pioneiro do Paraná, realizadas durante o ano de 2015. Tomou-se como parâmetro normativo para as entrevistas o Plano Nacional de Educação, que propõe, dentre outras metas, a de efetivar até 2016 a gestão democrática da educação, comparando-a com condicionantes internos e externos necessários à gestão democrática do ambiente escolar, já expostos pelas obras de Vitor Paro, pretendendo avançar num condicionante de solidariedade. A análise é guiada pela concepção de que a gestão pública requer horizontalização das relações de poder pela participação dos atores em articulação da rede local e global por uma governança pública. Para isso, desde a primeira infância até o mais alto grau de amadurecimento do ser humano, deve ser efetivado o direito público subjetivo à educação política, numa democracia cognitiva do conhecimento englobante necessário para a democracia participativa, efetivando o direito público subjetivo à gestão democrática da política educacional. / This research aims at analyzing the public management of educational policies in Brazil for democratic effectuation of the right to education. It demonstrates its influence to the effectuation of the human right to democracy cognitive and, therefore, to the effectuation of the human right to participatory democracy. It checks legal technologies needed to institutionalize the participation and the articulation between local and international decision-making instances from the school everyday life. It contributes with a democratic management index that can evaluate and to carry out internal and external structural conditions of the democratic intent of the school environment, including a conditioning of solidarity. The results were obtained when considering the search field of legal science in dialogue with the sciences of education and public management. Methods of monographic procedure were selected by bibliographic review, interpretation of administrative and legal rules, besides of empirical research on interviews in public schools from Mesoregion of Pioneer North of Paraná, during the year of the 2015. It became as normative parameter for the interviews the National Education Plan, which proposes, among other goals, to effect by 2016 the democratic management of education, comparing with to internal and external necessary conditions for the democratic management of the school environment, as exposed by the works of Vitor Paro, intending to move forward in a solidarity conditioning. The analysis is guided by the conception that public management requires horizontalization of the power relationships by the participation of the actors in articulation of the local and global network, for a public governance. For this, from the early childhood to the highest degree of maturity of the human being must be effected the subjective public right to political education, in a cognitive democracy of the encompassing knowledge necessary for the participatory democracy, effecting the subjective public right of democratic management of the policy educational.

Inserida em um contexto de ressurgimento de relações autogestionárias de trabalho, esta pesquisa tem por objetivos compreender o processo de construção da cooperativa de costureiras gaúchas Unidas Venceremos (UNIVENS) e, principalmente, identificar e discutir as principais repercussões psicossociais desta experiência na vida das sócias-trabalhadoras. Ou seja, busca compreender como a vivência de relações autogestionárias de trabalho afetaram e afetam as vidas sociais de seus sujeitos, tanto no âmbito do trabalho, quanto nos espaços da família, do bairro ou até mesmo da cidade. Trata-se de um estudo de caso que teve como escolhas metodológicas a observação etnográfica e a realização de entrevistas semi-abertas de longa duração. Como resultados, este trabalho apresenta e analisa tanto o processo histórico de construção da cooperativa, como as histórias de trabalho e as principais repercussões da experiência de autogestão apontadas por quatro cooperadas. A experiência política vivida por algumas cooperadas junto ao Orçamento Participativo local surgiu como fonte simbólica da cooperativa, tendo inspirado, inclusive, parte de seus princípios, como o caráter igualitário das relações e a gestão democrática e participativa. Neste sentido, concluiu-se que foi a experiência política que propiciou a experiência econômica, e não o contrário. O direito ao trabalho, o pertencimento ao grupo da cooperativa e o enraizamento como sujeitos nos espaços da Vila e do trabalho, representam as principais repercussões destas experiências – Orçamento Participativo e cooperativa – chamadas aqui de permanências, na medida que compõem dialeticamente um campo estável de referências para essas trabalhadoras, capaz de salvaguardar a manutenção da vida familiar e o poder de intervenção de suas ações cotidianas. Dessa forma, essas permanências possibilitam o enlace firme e perene destas pessoas em seus lugares através do tempo, uma vez que passam a conhecer e a construir a história da cooperativa e do bairro (passado), a circular por estes espaços com maior apropriação e segurança (presente) e a arquitetar para eles novas ações interventivas (futuro). As permanências também se apresentaram como condições simbólicas para a ação política, por permitir a estas trabalhadoras, ainda que momentaneamente, o afastamento das atividades voltadas para a sobrevivência e o alcance da liberdade necessária para a prática da política em espaços comuns. Ainda como conclusões, esta pesquisa apresenta a possibilidade de sonhar, projetar e realizar ações políticas em horizontes mais amplos como uma repercussão de segundo grau destas permanências e, por conseguinte, desta experiência autogestionária, para seus sujeitos. / This study is closely tied to a social context which witnessed the reappearance of self-management as a characteristic of work relations. The objectives of the study are to comprehend the process of construction of the Porto Alegre-based seamstress Cooperative Unidas Venceremos (UNIVENS) and most importantly, to identify and discuss the principle socio-psychological repercussions of that experience in the lives of the worker members of the organization. In other words, this investigation strives to understand how the experiencing of self-management work relations affected, and affect, the social lives of the subjects considered, in the work environment as well as in the family, the neighborhood, and even the city. The investigation is a case-study in which the researcher opted for a methodology based on ethnographic observation and the realization of partially structured long-duration interviews. The results present and analyze the historical process of construction of the cooperative, as well as the "work histories" and the principle repercussions of the self-management experience on four members of the cooperative. The political experience which some of the members of the cooperative underwent, influenced by the local so-called Participatory Budget, surfaced as a kind of symbolic mainspring of the cooperative, having even inspired some of its principles such as the equalitarian nature of its work relations and the democratic and participatory tendencies of its management practices. Due to the above facts, the study reached the conclusion that it was the political experience that led to the economic experience, and not vice versa. The right to work, the fact of belonging to the group constituted by the cooperative, and the character of rootedness as subjects in the spaces of neighborhood and work represent the principle repercussions of these experiences – that is, of the Participatory Budget and the cooperative – and are referred to here as permanencies since they make up a dialectically-construed stable field of references for these workers, references which safeguard the maintenance of family life and the enabling power of intervention in daily life. In this way, these permanencies make possible the firm and perennial connectedness of these persons to their spaces through time, since they are able to know and construct the history of the cooperative and the community (the past), to circulate through these spaces with more of a sense of security and belongingness (the present), and to construct for themselves new ways of intervening in these particular spaces (the future). The permanencies also appeared as symbolic conditions for political action, permitting these workers, even though momentarily, to go beyond mere survival activities and to attain the necessary freedom for political practice within communal spaces. Finally, in conclusion, this study presents the possibility of dreaming, projecting and realizing political actions on a wider scale as a secondary repercussion of the above cited permanencies and, therefore, of the self-management experience itself.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:30:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Alice Reis Pereira e Silva.pdf: 597307 bytes, checksum: 73760091313af2228bc27abee876e01c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-07-27 / This paper aims to show the new Supreme Court which, after more than 200 years of breeding and an image of shrewdness, there is modernized to go through a process of opening and democratization. Since the promulgation of the Constitution of 1988 and the consolidation of the democracy regime, it was clear the paper of the Supreme Court as the guardian of the Constitution. Thanks to the Constituents, which, although haven t promoted significant changes in the structure and composition of the Supreme Court, established a broad array of goals and objectives to be achieved by the State to ensure that all brazilians have the minimum conditions to live a dignified life. As the person responsible for custody and enforcement of the will of the Constitution, the Supreme Court has had an operation more complex in order to ensure the realization of fundamental rights and guarantees and ensure the preservation of values safeguarded by the Constitution, often from the creative interpretation of rules of open content or conflicting. In order to legitimize their decisions, especially those involving issues of significant public interest, the Supreme Court, oxygenated by the presence of new components, has promoted a revolution in the art of communicating with the population, intent to achieve what Peter Häberle called open society of interpreters of the Constitution, seeking to ensure that the decision handed down by its members wasn t seen as unison, but as a result of a pluralistic process of constitutional interpretation, once it had the participation of members of society. One of the ways chosen by the Supreme Court to justify those decisions was to hold public audience on the actions which were being discussed issues arising at general and of significant public interest, to hear testimony from people listed by the society, experts in the subject under discussion / Este trabalho tem como objetivo descortinar o novo Supremo Tribunal Federal que, depois de mais de 200 anos de criação e de uma imagem de sisudez, surge modernizado ao passar por um processo de abertura e democratização. A partir da promulgação da Constituição Federal de 1988 e da consolidação do regime democrático, ficou nítido o papel do STF como guardião da Constituição. Isso se deve aos Constituintes, que, embora não tenham promovido alterações significativas na estrutura e na composição do STF, estabeleceram um amplo rol de objetivos e finalidades a serem alcançados pelo Estado a fim de garantir a todo brasileiro as condições mínimas de viver uma vida digna. Como responsável pela guarda e fiscalização da aplicação da vontade constitucional, a STF passou a ter uma atuação bem mais complexa, a fim de garantir a concretização dos direitos e garantias fundamentais e zelar pela preservação de valores resguardados pela Constituição, muitas vezes a partir da interpretação criativa de normas de conteúdo abertos ou conflitantes. A fim de legitimar suas decisões, principalmente aquelas referentes às questões de interesse público relevante, o STF, oxigenado pela presença de novos componentes, promoveu uma verdadeira revolução na arte de se comunicar com a população, empregando meios para concretizar o que Peter Häberle chamou de sociedade aberta dos intérpretes da Constituição, buscando garantir que a decisão prolatada pelos seus membros, não fosse vista como uníssona, mas sim como resultado de um processo pluralista de interpretação constitucional, na medida em que teve a participação de membros da sociedade. Um dos meios escolhidos pela Suprema Corte para legitimar essas decisões foi a realização de audiências públicas nas ações onde estivessem sendo discutidas questões de repercussão geral e de interesse público relevante, para ouvir o depoimento de pessoas indicadas pela sociedade, experts no tema em debate

A política urbana, em seus vetores de regulação, serviços públicos e fomento, é o conjunto de princípios, diretrizes e ações que orientam a atividade econômica de urbanização, podendo determinar condutas à iniciativa privada através da função social da propriedade. Por afetar diretamente a vida das pessoas e a conformação da propriedade nas cidades, a política urbana é, por essência, municipal. A tradição da força municipalista no Brasil, que data do período imperial, ainda que em alguns momentos sufocada, manejou tornar os Municípios entes federados, assegurando- lhes, na Constituição de 1988, autonomia e atribuições, como a execução da política urbana traçada em diretrizes gerais por leis nacionais. As diretrizes nacionais para a política urbana, elaboradas em processo participativo, deveria pautar as ações da União, Estados e Municípios no tocante aos três mencionados vetores. No entanto, notando-se a quase total ausência dos Estados, verifica-se que a União, após a Constituição de 1988, rompeu com a própria ideologia de planejamento construída com a criação do Ministério das Cidades pelo Governo Lula e, atropelando o tempo de formação das diretrizes nacionais da política urbana, lançou programas de fomento a moradias e saneamento básico, cuja execução deve ser organizada pelos Municípios, que são tecnicamente frágeis e carentes de recursos para implementar a própria política urbana. Este recorte temático permite estudar a atuação mais recente da União em política urbana que, mesmo pretendendo dar conta de mazelas históricas do país, não destoa muito do período centralizador de formulação da política urbana do Regime Militar. Em Municipalismo e Política Urbana, analisa-se a influência da União na Política Urbana Municipal. / Urban policy, as it pertains to regulation, public services and development, is the set of principles, guidelines and activities that orient the economic activities involved in urbanization. As such, urban policy can draw on the concept of the social role of property to shape the conduct of the private sector. Urban policy is essentially municipal in nature because it directly affects the lives of people and the conformation of property in cities. Being a tradition dating back to the empire in Brazil, although it has occasionally been suppressed, the municipalist movement did manage to achieve federative status for municipalities under the 1988 Constitution, which guaranteed municipal autonomy and set forth municipal responsibilities, such as the implementation of urban policies outlined by general guidelines enacted in domestic legislation. The national guidelines of Urban Policy, prepared in a participatory process, should be followed by the Federal government, the states, and municipalities. Nevertheless, in light of the noticeable and almost complete absence of participation by the states, it has been notice that the Federal government has broken ranks with the planning ideology that was crafted by the very same Lula Administration when it created the Ministry for Cities. The Administration, after riding roughshod over the timeframe for the preparation of national urban policy guidelines, began to launch programs to promote housing and basic sanitation, which implementation is meant to be organized by municipalities, that do not even have enough technical expertise or resources to implement their own urban policies. By taking this thematic approach the author can focus on the Federal Government‟s most recent efforts in terms of urban policy. Although such efforts attempt to deal with historic vices in Brazil, they ultimately do not stray far from the highly centralized urban policies formulated under the military dictatorship. The influence of the Federal Government on municipal urban policy is therefore analyzed within a framework of municipalism and urban policy.