Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1974. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

This dissertation examines the possible impact of direct political participation by urban popular movements at the level of local government. It is argued that these movements harbour a democratic potential, which is contained in their social, cultural, and political practices, as well as in the collective identities of their participants. The relevance of this democratic potential derives from the fact that it could serve to democratize other political actors, particularly political parties, and to render local political institutions more democratic and efficient, depending on three conditions. First, effective political decentralization has to result in the creation of institutional openings for popular participation at the local level. Second, in order to overcome their various limitations and to project their potential for change into the political arena, urban popular movements have to form alliances with other actors, particularly political parties. Third, since such alliances often result in cooptive pressures, urban popular movements should strive to form multiple alliances with more than one actor in order to better preserve their autonomy. In the second part of the dissertation, this theoretical framework is applied to a study of popular participation at different levels of local government in Lima, Peru. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

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