building citizenship in a context of violence
DESCRIPTION
Joanna Wheeler, IDS presentsTRANSCRIPT
January 16 2009
Building citizenship in a context of violence
Presentation by
Joanna Wheeler
Citizenship is necessary for effective states
Violence leads to fragilities of citizenship in both fragile and strong states; increasingly high rates of violence persist
Constructive and destructive role of communication in a context of violence
Building citizenship in a context of violence
2006 DFID White Paper: Helping to Build States That Work For the Poor
‘Effective states are central to development. They protect people’s rights and provide security, economic growth and services like education and health care....This means we need to work not just with governments, but also with citizens and civil society.’
Reversing the Telescope: Seeing like a citizen rather than seeing like a state
Citizens are key social actors, rights bearers, and sources of knowledge about democracy building
Asks how citizens perceive their rights and identities as actors for democracy and how they engage with the institutions that affect their lives
Taking this perspective gives a very different view of development interventions – in some cases the institutions being
strengthened by external assistance are the very ones seen by citizens as anti-democratic
Active citizens build democracies, not (only) the other way around
Citizens can build democratic institutions by contributing to different dimensions of more effective states
– Legitimacy
– Responsiveness
– Capability
– Accountability
Citizens and Accountable States
Multiple ways in which citizens and civil society organisations can increase accountability:– Citizen report cards, budget monitoring, policy
advocacy, demands for freedom of information, etc
– Help the state hold other non-state actors to account (e.g. corporate social responsibility)
– Accountability is more than ‘accounting’ – citizen action goes beyond technical approaches to challenge power relations
– Citizens link formal and informal strategies, draw on international standards and local, regional and global networks
Violence leads to fragilities of citizenship
Fractures sense of identity– Role of fear
Undermines access to basic services– Violent actors mediate access
Fragments authority, weakening basis for state interventions– State must compete with violent actors
Limits the possibilities for citizen action – Barriers at individual, community, and national
levels
Constructive role of participatory communication
Increased interaction between people separated by fear and stigma,
– Crossing boundaries created and reinforced by violence
Validation of people’s own perspectives and on insecurity
– Potential for counter-labelling
Builds the basis for greater solidarity– Necessary element for citizen action
Destructive role of participatory communication
Exacerbates/reinforces exclusions and existing
power relations
Reductive and superficial
Tendency for self-censorship, and increased risk
Building active citizens in a violent context?
Recognition, not only redistribution;– Sense of political community eroded by fear
Citizenship (skills, identities, practices) are emergent and take time– Address parallel structures of authority and gaps in accountability
Start with the assets not just the deficits– Foster leadership
Recognise the role of communication