Masters in Public Administration - MPA / Grassroots participation in the domain of public policy is assuming global significance particularly in the fields of welfare and development. Revived by the United Nations' resolution in the 1970s, many governments both in developed and underdeveloped countries have endorsed the grassroots participation ideals as contained in the United Nations' policy statements and resolutions. Accordingly, many governments have declared their support for grassroots participation and in number of cases, grassroots participation has featured conspicuously in their national development plans. _. A late arrival on the grassroots participation discourse, grassroots participation and civil society's involvement have also featured predominantly in the national development plans of the new South African government. The new democratically elected government pronounced in various policy documents and on public platforms, a commitment towards grassroots participation. Although many governments have employed the rhetoric of grassroots participation in their national·. development plans, there is however an accumulative literature which points to the fact that grassroots participation endeavors have· often been undertaken in a top-down fashion, with marginalized groups of communities often excluded. The central objective of this study has therefore been a critical evaluation of the manner in which the Western Cape Provincial Department of Social Services has implemented its grassroots approach in the context of policy. formulation and implementation and service delivery. An evaluation of the Department's grassroots approach has been attempted by assessing the grassroots structures, which the Department has established as vehicles for grassroots participation in its policy processes and service delivery. To this end, of Fourteen District Committees established by the Department throughout the Western Cape province, four have been evaluated. Through reviewing literature Oh grassroots participation, the project's findings highlighted a discrepancy between the Department's prevailing rhetoric of grassroots participation and the reality of the grassroots participation as operationalized through these committees. The findings indicated that the grassroots participation through these committees is far from the ideal of authentic grassroots participation as discussed in Chapter Two, as it is replete with elements of unrepresentativeness of the marginalized groups, co-option, political manipulation, centralized and top-down decision-making styles. The study also attempted to provide recommendations tailored to bring the Department's grassroots participatory process closer to the ideals of authentic

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / Grassroots participation in the domain of public policy is assuming global significance particularly in the fields of welfare and development. Revived by the United Nations' resolution in the 1970s, many governments both in developed and underdeveloped countries have endorsed the grassroots participation ideals as contained in the United Nations' policy statements and resolutions. Accordingly, many governments have declared their support for grassroots participation and in number of cases, grassroots participation has featured conspicuously in their national development plans. A late arrival on the grassroots participation discourse, grassroots participation and civil society's involvement have also featured predominantly in the national development plans of the new South African government. The new democratically elected government pronounced in various policy documents and on public platforms, a commitment towards grassroots participation. Although many governments have employed the rhetoric of grassroots participation in their national·. development plans, there is however an accumulative literature which points to the fact that grassroots participation endeavors have· often been undertaken in a top-down fashion, with marginalized groups of communities often excluded. The central objective of this study has therefore been a critical evaluation of the manner in which the Western Cape Provincial Department of Social Services has implemented its grassroots approach in the context of policy . formulation and implementation and service delivery. An evaluation of the Department's grassroots approach has been attempted by assessing the grassroots structures, which the Department has established as vehicles for grassroots participation in its policy processes and service delivery. To this end, of Fourteen District Committees established by the Department throughout the Western Cape province,. four have been evaluated. Through reviewing literature Oh grassroots participation, the project's findings highlighted a discrepancy between the Department's prevailing rhetoric of grassroots participation and the reality of the grassroots participation as operationalized through these committees. The findings indicated that the grassroots participation through these committees is far from the ideal of authentic grassroots participation as discussed in Chapter Two, as it is replete with elements of unrepresentativeness of the marginalized groups, co-option, political manipulation, centralized and top-down decision-making styles. The study also attempted to provide recommendations tailored to bring the Department's grassroots participatory process closer to the ideals of authentic grassroots participation.

Esta dissertação tem o objetivo de analisar a relação entre a eficácia do direito à moradia e o acesso à justiça. A base analítica que subjaz é o paradigma democrático do Direito, enquanto fator legitimador do poder político devido à institucionalização de valores reconhecidos pela sociedade por meio das normas positivadas , e da efetividade dos Direitos Econômicos e Sociais. A complexidade das relações sociais e econômicas que derivam cada tipo de Direitos Econômicos e Sociais demonstra que a efetividade desses direitos demandam ações do Estado que não se limitam à prestação material do bem acolhido na norma constitucional. Para que os Direitos Fundamentais possam ser efetivos contra a arbitrariedade do Estado e de atores privados em obstruir o acesso e fruição dos bens, a dimensão da defesa e proteção dos Direitos Econômicos e Sociais em particular, o direito à moradia se mostra fundamental. Uma observação atenta das disputas entre segmentos vulneráveis da sociedade e poderosas corporações que tomam corpo no espaço urbano (considerando que o acesso à terra é uma oportunidade para gerar grandes lucros) mostra que os conflitos tendem a crescer com anuência do próprio Estado. Este trabalho organiza-se em torno da Análise da norma jurídica pelas qualificadoras: Validade, Justiça, Eficácia e Efetividade, cujo objetivo é a análise dogmática da adequação das normas acolhedoras dos Direitos Fundamentais ao ordenamento jurídico e demonstração da base democrática como fundamento para a legitimidade e validade das normas. A reflexão buscou mostrar a diferenciação entre eficácia jurídica, por um lado, e eficácia social objeto dessa dissertação , por outro. No entanto, a complementaridade entre ambos os institutos jurídicos não é desconsiderada. A Dimensão de defesa e proteção dos Direitos Econômicos e Sociais é discutida com base na observação empírica das relações econômicas implicadas no direito à moradia. Essa dimensão é apresentada como função essencial para o acesso e fruição dos Direitos Fundamentais. A Função Regulatória do Direito é observada na perspectiva da igualdade material atingida por meio da cooperação entre os indivíduos na perspectiva do desenvolvimento econômico e social baseado na distribuição de seus benefícios. O Acesso à Justiça diz respeito ao conceito de acesso ao direito como institucionalização de um processo democrático baseado na igualdade e centrado na participação popular, que possibilita a criação de ambiente propício a uma hermenêutica centrada nas condições materiais dos conflitos levados ao Judiciário. / This dissertation aims at analyzing the correlation between the effectiveness of the right to housing and the access to justice. The analytical underpinning will be the democratic legal paradigm as legitimizing factor of both the political power due to the institutionalization of values recognized by the society via positive norms and the effectiveness of economic and social rights. The complexity of social and economic relations that follows from each type of economic and social rights demands state actions beyond the material provision of the good embodied by the constitutional Law. In order for the fundamental rights to be effective against the arbitrariness of the State and private actors in obstructing access and fruition of goods, the dimension of defense and protection of economic and social rights in particular, the right to housing becomes paramount. An exam of the disputes between vulnerable segments of the society and powerful corporations that take place in the urban arena (considering that access to land is an opportunity for generating great amounts of profit) shows that conflicts tend to escalate through consent given by the State itself. The analysis of the legal norms proposed in this dissertation is centered on the following qualifiers: validation, justice, effectiveness and effectivity. The aim is to offer a dogmatic analysis of the fundamental rights\' embodied norms, proofing their adequacy to the legal system. It will be argued that a democratic basis is the foundation for the legitimation and validity of the norms. These considerations point out the differentiation between legal effectiveness, on the one hand, and social effectiveness which is the subject of this dissertation on the other hand. However, the complementarity between both legal institutions is not dismissed. The dimension of defense and protection of economic and social rights is discussed on the basis of empirical observation of the economic relations implied in the right to housing. This dimension is presented as having an essential role in the access and fruition of fundamental rights. The regulative function of the Law is regarded from the perspective of material equality achieved through cooperation among individuals, in which economic and social development is based on the distribution of goods. Access to justice refers to legal access as institutionalization of a democratic process based on equality and focused on grassroots participation. It fosters the proper conditions for the development of an hermeneutic centered in the material conditions of the conflicts that are taken to the judiciary.

Esta dissertação tem o objetivo de analisar a relação entre a eficácia do direito à moradia e o acesso à justiça. A base analítica que subjaz é o paradigma democrático do Direito, enquanto fator legitimador do poder político devido à institucionalização de valores reconhecidos pela sociedade por meio das normas positivadas , e da efetividade dos Direitos Econômicos e Sociais. A complexidade das relações sociais e econômicas que derivam cada tipo de Direitos Econômicos e Sociais demonstra que a efetividade desses direitos demandam ações do Estado que não se limitam à prestação material do bem acolhido na norma constitucional. Para que os Direitos Fundamentais possam ser efetivos contra a arbitrariedade do Estado e de atores privados em obstruir o acesso e fruição dos bens, a dimensão da defesa e proteção dos Direitos Econômicos e Sociais em particular, o direito à moradia se mostra fundamental. Uma observação atenta das disputas entre segmentos vulneráveis da sociedade e poderosas corporações que tomam corpo no espaço urbano (considerando que o acesso à terra é uma oportunidade para gerar grandes lucros) mostra que os conflitos tendem a crescer com anuência do próprio Estado. Este trabalho organiza-se em torno da Análise da norma jurídica pelas qualificadoras: Validade, Justiça, Eficácia e Efetividade, cujo objetivo é a análise dogmática da adequação das normas acolhedoras dos Direitos Fundamentais ao ordenamento jurídico e demonstração da base democrática como fundamento para a legitimidade e validade das normas. A reflexão buscou mostrar a diferenciação entre eficácia jurídica, por um lado, e eficácia social objeto dessa dissertação , por outro. No entanto, a complementaridade entre ambos os institutos jurídicos não é desconsiderada. A Dimensão de defesa e proteção dos Direitos Econômicos e Sociais é discutida com base na observação empírica das relações econômicas implicadas no direito à moradia. Essa dimensão é apresentada como função essencial para o acesso e fruição dos Direitos Fundamentais. A Função Regulatória do Direito é observada na perspectiva da igualdade material atingida por meio da cooperação entre os indivíduos na perspectiva do desenvolvimento econômico e social baseado na distribuição de seus benefícios. O Acesso à Justiça diz respeito ao conceito de acesso ao direito como institucionalização de um processo democrático baseado na igualdade e centrado na participação popular, que possibilita a criação de ambiente propício a uma hermenêutica centrada nas condições materiais dos conflitos levados ao Judiciário. / This dissertation aims at analyzing the correlation between the effectiveness of the right to housing and the access to justice. The analytical underpinning will be the democratic legal paradigm as legitimizing factor of both the political power due to the institutionalization of values recognized by the society via positive norms and the effectiveness of economic and social rights. The complexity of social and economic relations that follows from each type of economic and social rights demands state actions beyond the material provision of the good embodied by the constitutional Law. In order for the fundamental rights to be effective against the arbitrariness of the State and private actors in obstructing access and fruition of goods, the dimension of defense and protection of economic and social rights in particular, the right to housing becomes paramount. An exam of the disputes between vulnerable segments of the society and powerful corporations that take place in the urban arena (considering that access to land is an opportunity for generating great amounts of profit) shows that conflicts tend to escalate through consent given by the State itself. The analysis of the legal norms proposed in this dissertation is centered on the following qualifiers: validation, justice, effectiveness and effectivity. The aim is to offer a dogmatic analysis of the fundamental rights\' embodied norms, proofing their adequacy to the legal system. It will be argued that a democratic basis is the foundation for the legitimation and validity of the norms. These considerations point out the differentiation between legal effectiveness, on the one hand, and social effectiveness which is the subject of this dissertation on the other hand. However, the complementarity between both legal institutions is not dismissed. The dimension of defense and protection of economic and social rights is discussed on the basis of empirical observation of the economic relations implied in the right to housing. This dimension is presented as having an essential role in the access and fruition of fundamental rights. The regulative function of the Law is regarded from the perspective of material equality achieved through cooperation among individuals, in which economic and social development is based on the distribution of goods. Access to justice refers to legal access as institutionalization of a democratic process based on equality and focused on grassroots participation. It fosters the proper conditions for the development of an hermeneutic centered in the material conditions of the conflicts that are taken to the judiciary.