The purpose of this dissertation is to examine under what political conditions public policy issues are likely to become judicialized in Argentina. This study shows that the most widespread theoretical explanation, the loser argument, is too general and does not provide much analytical insight about the relationship between the political context and the judicialization of policy. Meanwhile, other explanations developed by the literature, mainly the politically disadvantaged group and the fragmented legislative power, although theoretically valid, have a limited empirical coverage and cannot fully explain the phenomenon of policy judicialization in Argentina. Taking into account the limitations and contributions of the existing theories, the theoretical argument of this dissertation is predicated upon the idea that there are various, alternative political scenarios under which judicialization is likely to occur. In other words, there is not just one, but several, different political conditions or combinations of conditions that might trigger the involvement of courts in public policy. Within this conceptual framework, the dissertation argues that policy disputes are likely to become judicialized under two political scenarios which have not been considered by the existing literature: first, when the state apparatus is unable to implement or enforce policy goals and mandates already approved by the political branches of government, and second, when the political elites in charge of the executive do not fully support existing policy mandates, and the legislature is too passive or deferential to the government regarding that policy issue. In these types of political contexts, social actors are likely to judicialize their policy claims. To assess these arguments, the dissertation develops a qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) of 13 major policy conflicts that occurred in Argentina during the last two decades, complemented by case studies. As a result of my analysis, I identify three combinations of political conditions that are sufficient to trigger the judicialization of policy in Argentina. Two of these combinations clearly fit with my theoretical argument and expectations about what political scenarios are likely to lead to policy judicialization, while the third combination closely reflects the political disadvantage argument. / text

Individual membership is a widespread phenomenon in society. However, despite its well-documented empirical presence, there is a lack of knowledge concerning the meaning of that specific relation between members and their organizations.  This study sets out to analyze how top-level leaders and officials in membership-based and democratically governed federations perceive membership. The federations included are: the Swedish Red Cross, the Swedish Teachers’ Union, the Swedish Union of Tenants, the Swedish Co-operative Union, the Swedish Football Association, the Swedish Social Democratic Party, the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden, the Swedish Association of the Visually Impaired, and the International Organization of Good Templars in Sweden. The analysis explores linkages between the interviewees’ perceptions of membership, these federations and their societal context. The study suggests that the federations can be described as hourglass constructs, involving a hybridization of democracy and bureaucracy. These hybrids, and the societal context, are also discussed in relation to the Swedish notion of folkrörelse. A reconsidered model for membership is developed in order to offer a nuanced picture of how the meaning of membership evolves through the continuous interplay between acting agents, culture, and social structure. The analysis reveals that the notion of folkrörelse is deeply embedded in the per­ceptions of membership. Furthermore, membership is an important part of the identity of these organizations, and contributes to the legitimization of their existence. It can be understood as a boundary-defining relation with a gate-keeping function. Moreover, it represents a channel for mobilizing resources, and constitutes a base for specific member roles, such as members as principals and members as customers. The dis­cussion highlights oligarchic tendencies and increased bureaucratization in these federations, as well as a drift towards commercialization, which also seems to propel a gradual commodification of membership. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2008

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:39:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 5902.pdf: 1860672 bytes, checksum: 1860497f516f8e08059b5ebb83866b7f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-21 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / The School Councils (SC) can strengthen democratic management of schools to improve the quality of education. Therefore, it is important that studies be conducted to identify the function, composition and functioning of the SC in order to understand the difficulties and achievements in this collegiate strengthening of democratic principles process. Thus, through a semi-structured and invested in online extension course offered by DED/UFSCAR in partnership with SEB/MEC in 2011 activities questionnaire examined whether the configuration of the EC in the view of teacher students who were also technicians Municipal and State Education. After analyzing the data, we found ways to strengthen the SC and obstacles in this process. It was found that there is, according to the course participants, the strengthening of the principle of democratic management in schools because the Education Departments were taking actions, such as training courses, meetings and creation of working groups. Also had to create complementary to LGB 1996 that dealt with the specificities of action of EC regulations in the different municipalities. According to the course participants, through these actions occurred rapprochement between the state and civil society. We found that there were difficulties in strengthening the SC because there was lack of its function; prevailing authority director in school management and representativeness was not expressing the wishes of his peers. Given these problems and democratic advances, there remains the challenge for those involved with the school to build a participatory ethos that aims to improve the quality of teaching and learning, and the SC of the ways to act collectively. / Os Conselhos Escolares (CE) podem fortalecer a gestão democrática nas escolas para melhorar a qualidade da educação. Por isso, torna-se importante que estudos sejam realizados para identificar a função, a composição e o funcionamento do CE a fim de compreender as dificuldades e as conquistas deste colegiado no processo de fortalecimento de princípios democráticos. Assim, mediante um questionário semiestruturado e atividades on-line aplicados no curso de extensão oferecido pelo DEd/UFSCar, em parceria com a SEB/MEC, em 2011, averiguou-se a configuração do CE segundo a visão dos cursistas que também eram técnicos de Secretarias Municipais e Estaduais de Educação. Após a análise dos dados, encontrou-se caminhos para o fortalecimento do CE e entraves neste processo. Constatou-se que há, segundo os cursistas, o fortalecimento do princípio de gestão democrática nas escolas porque as Secretarias de Educação estavam desenvolvendo ações, como: cursos de formação, reuniões e criação de grupos de trabalho. Havia, também, a criação de regulamentações complementares à LDB de 1996 que tratavam das especificidades de atuação dos CE nos diferentes municípios. Segundo os cursistas, por meio dessas ações ocorria a aproximação entre Estado e sociedade civil. Detectou-se que haviam dificuldades em fortalecer os CE, pois existia desconhecimento de sua função; prevalecia a autoridade do diretor na gestão da escola e a representatividade não estava expressando os desejos de seus pares. Diante desses problemas e avanços democráticos, fica o desafio aos envolvidos com a escola de construir um ethos participativo que vise melhorar a qualidade do ensino e da aprendizagem, sendo os CE uma das formas de deliberar coletivamente.

abstract: Many different levels of government, organizations, and programs actively shape the future of energy in Arizona, a state that lacks a comprehensive energy plan. Disparate actions by multiple actors may slow the energy policy process rather than expedite it. The absence of a state energy policy or plan raises questions about how multiple actors and ideas engage with state energy policy development and whether the absence of a comprehensive state plan can be understood. Improving how policy development is conceptualized and giving more focused attention to the mechanisms by which interested parties become involved in shaping Arizona energy policy. To explore these questions, I examine the future energy efficiency. Initially, public engagement mechanisms were examined for their role in policy creation from a theoretical perspective. Next a prominent public engagement forum that was dedicated to the topic of the Arizona's energy future was examined, mapping its process and conclusions onto a policy process model. The first part of this thesis involves an experimental expert consultation panel which was convened to amplify and refine the results of a public forum. The second part utilizes an online follow up survey to complete unfinished ideas from the focus group. The experiment flowed from a hypothesis that formal expert discussion on energy efficiency policies, guided by the recommendations put forth by the public engagement forum on energy in Arizona, would result in an increase in relevance while providing a forum for interdisciplinary collaboration that is atypical in today's energy discussions. This experiment was designed and evaluated utilizing a public engagement framework that incorporated theoretical and empirical elements. Specifically, I adapted elements of three methods of public and expert engagement used in policy development to create a consultation process that was contextualized to energy efficiency stakeholders in Arizona and their unique constraints. The goal of the consultation process was to refine preferences about policy options by expert stakeholders into actionable goals that could achieve advancement on policy implementation. As a corollary goal, the research set out to define implementation barriers, refine policy ideas, and operationalize Arizona-centric goals for the future of energy efficiency. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Sustainability 2013

O processo de descentralização das políticas sociais no País, implantado pela Constituição Federal do Brasil de 1988, levou a reformulações na gestão dessas políticas em Estados e Municípios, em termos da cultura gerencial, da estrutura administrativa e da abertura de canais de participação da sociedade civil na construção, acompanhamento e avaliação das ações. Nesse processo, as relações entre Estado, Mercado e Comunidade deveriam atingir um equilíbrio, a partir de políticas baseadas no modelo de consenso político (OFFE, 1998). No contexto da gestão de políticas públicas municipais, o Conselho Gestor é considerado um canal de participação da Comunidade e condição para o município ter acesso a verbas estaduais e federais para programas sociais locais. No Esporte, a prevalência dos interesses do Mercado se reflete nas normas legais e nos planos de desenvolvimento do Esporte implantados nas duas últimas décadas no País. O registro da existência de Conselhos Municipais de Esporte ou congêneres é muito recente no país, e o conhecimento sobre o seu papel e desempenho, no sentido de viabilizar a participação da Comunidade na formulação e desenvolvimento de políticas locais, é bastante limitado. Esta Pesquisa foi desenvolvida com o intuito de verificar se o Conselho Municipal de Esporte se constitui efetivamente em espaço de definição de políticas e de discussão e articulação entre os interesses dos diferentes segmentos da ordem social - Estado, Mercado e Comunidade - em uma política de Esporte local. Para tanto, foi desenvolvido estudo de caso sobre o Conselho Municipal de Esporte, Lazer e Atividade Física de Santana de Parnaíba-SP, referente ao período da sua criação em 2003 até 2006, a partir da análise de fontes documentais, complementadas por depoimentos de membros do Conselho e do representante do Executivo Municipal da área de Esporte, com base na metodologia da História Oral. As análises realizadas sobre o processo de implantação e a atuação do Conselho levaram a não confirmação da hipótese do estudo. Foi constatado um distanciamento entre a proposta participativa do governo municipal e o que ocorreu no âmbito da política de Esporte e do Conselho, não havendo incentivo a participação da sociedade civil no processo de formulação e acompanhamento da Política de Esporte. Considerações e perspectivas quanto à superação das lacunas identificadas na ação do Conselho são levantadas 6 no sentido de contribuir para a reflexão teórica e o aprimoramento da atuação desse mecanismo de gestão democrática em outros municípios brasileiros. / The decentralization process of social policies in the Country, as implemented by the 1988 Federal Constitution of Brazil, led to the reformulation of such policies\' management in States and Municipalities, as regards managerial culture, administrative structure and opening of channels for the civil society\'s participation in the construction, follow-up and assessment of such actions. In this process, the relationships among State, Market and Community should reach a balance, by means of policies based on the model of Political Consensus (OFFE, 1998). In terms of management of municipal public policies, the Managing Board is a channel for the Community\'s participation and places the municipality in position to access state and federal allowances for local social programs. In Sports, the prevalence of the Market\'s interest is reflected in legal rules and Sports development plans implemented within the past two decades in the Country. The record of the existence of Municipal Boards of Sports is very recent in the country, and the knowledge as regards their role and performance towards making the Community\'s participation in the formulation and development of local policies feasible is extremely limited. This research was developed aiming at ascertaining whether the Municipal Board of Sports actually constitutes a space for defining policies and discussion and organization of the interests of the social order\'s different segments - State, Market and Community - into a local Sports policy. Therefore, a case study of the Municipal Board of Sports, Leisure and Physical Activity of Santana de Parnaíba-SP was developed, regarding the period from its creation in 2003 up to 2006, based on the analysis of documental sources, complemented by statements by Board members and the representative of the municipal executive power in the Sports field, relying on the Oral History methodology. The analyses carried out as regards the process\' implementation and the Board\'s activities led to the nonconfirmation of the study\'s hypothesis. A distancing between the municipal government\'s participative proposal and what took place within the sphere of the Sports and the Board\'s policy was ascertained, as well as an absence of encouragement for civil society\'s participation in the process to formulate and follow-up the Sports Policy. Considerations and perspectives as regards filling in the blanks identified in the Board\'s actions are raised aiming 8 at contributing to the improvement of such democratic management mechanism\'s activities in other Brazilian municipalities.

Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013 / Centre for Human Rights / LLM / Unrestricted

As the debate on greater socio-economic rights promulgated by China’s model of authoritarian capitalism or greater human rights and freedom championed by the US model of democratic governance continues to spread across developing countries, this thesis investigates how Africans perceive these two transnational political processes. This is an exploratory sequential mixed method research with data collected through an expert interview of 10 participants from 7 African countries and the quantitative data gotten from Afrobarometer Round 8 survey. This study permitted us to establish that the perception of Africans of these models of governance are shaped by the indicators of human rights and freedom and Foreign Direct Investments (FDI). The results of the study suggest that Africans perceive positively the US model of democratic governance on the promotion of human rights and Africans also perceive positively the impact of Western democratic countries’ FDI on the non-elite actors in Africa because of their level of transparency and accountability. On the other hand, the study suggests that Africans view negatively China’s model on both human rights as well as FDI. This is because of China’s disregard for human rights and principles of good governance in her interaction with African countries. Chinese FDI turn to profit the political elite class the more because of their lack of transparency and accountability. China’s model helps to perpetuate human rights violation and authoritarianism in Africa.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor Of Philosophy (Phd) in the Department of History at the University Of Zululand, 2018 / The study was undertaken to evaluate the impact of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) on peacebuilding and conflict prevention in Nigeria from 2000 to 2014. Established by the government as it transitioned to democratic governance in 2000, IPCR was mandated to identify the root causes of violent conflict in Nigeria through research and provide possible solutions through evidence-informed policy and practice options, and promotion of peacebuilding strategies. Recurring violent conflicts had not only destroyed several lives and property and displaced millions from their homes, but had also retarded the nation’s growth and development. Drawing from extensive sources of qualitative and quantitative data, the study examined the peacebuilding evidence that had worked and did not work for IPCR, and why, through conflict analysis model, theories of change and intervention theory for organizational development. Through historical, evaluative and descriptive analysis, the study found out that the Institute had within fifteen years of its history contributed to the promotion of peace through design and implementation of relevant, effective and efficient peacebuilding programmes for communities, women, youth, media, legislators, public servants, traditional, religious leaders and civil society. These groups of beneficiaries are the study’s target population. There was a strong evidence to argue that the impact of the interventions were mostly in short-term as it had impacted on the mind and work of beneficiaries but not enough to manage the underlying factors behind the recurrence of violent conflict in Nigeria. Nigeria often relapsed into more violence as soon as it gained some respite. Therefore, to achieve its mandate in the long, coherent and sustainable terms, the study suggests that the Institute must scale up its programmes to drastically stem the tide of violence through community peacebuilding. IPCR must make itself more visible at the community level because that was where most violent conflict originated. While the study recognized the fact that, though, the prevalence and complexity of underlying drivers of conflict in Nigeria were far beyond the ambit of one agency, it recommends the Institute to deepen and broaden its partnership and networks for greater peacebuilding impact. Similarly, the government needs to prioritize peace and security by increasing funding and giving sustainable support to IPCR as a democratic institution. Though much of its intervention impact still needed to be studied and learned, the study contends that better and more expanded programmes will make peacebuilding more effective and promote Nigeria’s peace in the long-term.

Yes / The emergence of globalisation has promoted human rights education, the media and scholarly works have drawn attention to the issue of the rule of law and mob justice activities constantly recurring in developing countries. The paper examines the effects of mob justice on the rule of law and democratisation in Africa using Ghana as a case study. The paper is of the view that mob justice has both negative and positive effects on the rule of law and democratisation in Ghana. This is because the legal and criminal justice systems in some societies are seen by citizens as illegitimate as they fail to punish suspected criminals appropriately; thus, negatively destroying democracy and the image of the State. Positively, mob justice serves as a wake-up call for the State to take its responsibility to protect the rights of its citizens seriously. The paper draws on international human rights law in the light of international legal instruments, such as the UDHR, ICCPR, and African Charter, as well as the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and employs mainly the Tylerian procedural justice perspective, as well as Liberal democratic theory. It uses theoretical, critically analytical and qualitative empirical evidence (based on semi-structured interviews from purposive sampling of 15 expert opinions and relevant organisations with a keen interest in the subject matter) for the analysis. / Ghana Scholarship Board funded the research on the Rule of Law & Mob Justice in Ghana.

Disability discrimination is an ongoing problem in Australian schools. This study analyses the tension that exists between the requirements of the disability discrimination legislation and the way that principals make decisions about the inclusion of students with disabilities in Queensland state schools. The findings from the study suggest that principals believe the disability discrimination legislation is relevant but it is not helpful in providing a framework for discrimination-free decision-making. Instead, the democratic governance processes of inclusion and collaboration are identified as essential elements of the school principal's decision-making process if inclusive school cultures are to thrive and if discrimination is to be reduced or eliminated. Habermas's critical theory of lifeworld and systems world provides the conceptual framework to analyse the complex lifeworld of the principal and the systemic requirements of the legislation. A lifeworld model of decision-making interactions within the inclusive school is proposed from the data collected in this study. Data were collected using a mixed methodology in which 120 principals responded to surveys about their perspectives on inclusion. This was followed by a series of in-depth interviews with six principals who described their schools as inclusive. Focus groups also provided group perspectives and verified the data collected from the surveys and interviews. Together, the quantitative data and the qualitative information complement each other to provide comprehensive perspectives from principals about inclusion and the law. Recommendations are made in the final chapters that propose a new legal paradigm for disability discrimination legislation so that the discordance between the systems world of the law and the lifeworld of the principal may be reduced. More specific policy and governance recommendations promote collaborative decision-making models to facilitate shared understandings about complex issues that relate to disability.