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Rethinking Popular Representation Palgrave Studies in Governance, Security, and Development Series Editor: Dietrich Jung of the Danish Institute for International Studies This series contributes to the critical analysis of international affairs, linking the theoretical and the empirical, especially...

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Rethinking Popular Representation

Palgrave Studies in Governance, Security, and Development Series Editor: Dietrich Jung of the Danish Institute for International Studies This series contributes to the critical analysis of international affairs, linking the theoretical and the empirical, especially through comparative works. The focus is on three processes in international relations: governance involving both formal and informal institutions; security, meaning that of key actors in international society, with a focus on the distinctions and differences among security of and for individuals, groups, and states; and development, meaning the improvement of both political and economic conditions for individuals and groups. The links among the three will be a focus, which is pertinent given the interactions among them and among the levels of influence (from individual to global society). Also in the series: Aid Impact and Poverty Reduction Edited by Steen Folke and Henrik Nielson Democratization and Development: New Political Strategies for the Middle East Edited by Dietrich Jung Fragile States and Insecure People?: Violence, Security, and Statehood in the Twenty-First Century Edited by Louise Andersen, Bjørn Møller, and Finn Stepputat State Recognition and Democratization in Sub-Saharan Africa: A New Dawn for Traditional Authorities? Edited by Lars Buur and Helene Maria Kyed Religion, Politics, and Turkey’s EU Accession Edited by Dietrich Jung and Catharina Raudvere Sovereignty Games: Instrumentalizing State Sovereignty in Europe and Beyond Edited by Rebecca Adler-Nissen and Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen Rethinking Popular Representation Edited by Olle Törnquist, Neil Webster, and Kristian Stokke

Rethinking Popular Representation Edited by Olle Törnquist, Neil Webster, and Kristian Stokke

RETHINKING POPULAR REPRESENTATION

Copyright © Olle Törnquist, Neil Webster, and Kristian Stokke, 2009. All rights reserved. First published in 2009 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN: 978–0–230–62136–7 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rethinking popular representation / edited by Olle Törnquist, Neil Webster, and Kristian Stokke. p. cm. ISBN 978–0–230–62136–7 (alk. paper) 1. Representative government and representation— Developing countries. 2. Democratization—Developing countries. 3. Developing countries—Politics and government. I. Törnquist, Olle. II. Webster, Neil. III. Stokke, Kristian, 1961– JF60.R44 2009 321.809172!4—dc22

2009016956

A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: December 2009 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America.

Contents

List of Illustrations

vii

Preface

ix

Notes on the Contributors

xi

1

2

3

Introduction: The Problem Is Representation! Towards an Analytical Framework Olle Törnquist

1

What Is the Relationship Between Participation and Representation? Neera Chandhoke

25

The Paradox of Civil Society Representation: Constructing New Forms of Democratic Legitimacy in Brazil Peter P. Houtzager and Adrian Gurza Lavalle

39

4

Symbolic Representation as Political Practice Kristian Stokke and Elin Selboe

5

School Provision, the Capacity to Aspire, and the State of Popular Representation in West Bengal Neil Webster

79

The Politics of Gradualismo: Popular Participation and Decentralised Governance in Mozambique Lars Buur

99

6

7

8

Representation by Design? Variations on Participatory Reforms in Brazilian Municípios Gianpaolo Baiocchi and Patrick Heller Patronage Democracy in Provincial Indonesia Gerry van Klinken

59

119 141

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CONTENTS

9 Compromised Democracy: Observations on Popular Democratic Representation from Urban India John Harriss 10

11

161

Trade Unions and Popular Representation: Nigeria and South Africa Compared Björn Beckman

179

Popular Politics of Representation: New Lessons from the Pioneering Projects in Indonesia, Kerala, and the Philippines Olle Törnquist, P. K. Michael Tharakan (with Jos Chathukulam), and Nathan Quimpo

197

12 From Research to Practice: Towards the Democratic Institutionalisation of Nodes for Improved Representation Neil Webster, Kristian Stokke, and Olle Törnquist

223

References

235

Index

257

Illustrations

Figures 1.1 The challenges of democratic popular control of public affairs 1.2 Integrated framework for the study of popular democratic representation 3.1 Assumed representation by type of civil organisation 3.2 Legitimacy claims for assumed representation, by type of civil organisations 11.1 Scaling up issues, alliances and spatial links by improved representation, to counter the distressed relations between civil society associations, popular movements and organised politics

5 11 46 48

198

Tables 3.1 Distribution of types of civil organisations in the São Paulo study, 2002 5.1 The Left Front electoral performance in state assembly elections 5.2 West Bengal Panchayat election results in 2003 and 2008 5.3 Primary school provision 7.1 Matched pairs 7.2 Participatory governance, 1997–2000 7.3 Synthesis of participatory governance, 1997–2000 9.1 Share of problem-solving efforts by channel

44 80 81 94 125 129 129 163

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Preface

T

his collection of essays originates in an international network of scholars with shared interests in democratisation in the Global South. The theme of Rethinking Popular Representation was first discussed and developed in 2006 at a conference in Hadeland, Norway, that was organised by the Network on Contextual Politics in Developing Countries (CPD). The present volume follows from an earlier collection of essays on Politicising Democracy: The New Local Politics of Democratisation, which was published by Palgrave-Macmillan in 2004. That book pointed to a new local politics of democratisation in developing countries, following from structural changes, institutional reforms, and popular mobilisations that generate and transform democracy through local political spaces and actors. Yet it also questioned the manner and extent to which transitions to liberal democracy, decentralisation, and participation really construct more substantial democracy. Rethinking Popular Representation starts out from the deep concern with depoliticisation of public issues and popular interests that was developed in Politicising Democracy. It is argued that the root cause is flawed representation, due to both elitist institution building and fragmented citizen participation. Hence, we make a case for the need to rethink more democratic popular representation. Towards this end, an overarching analytical framework is developed in the introduction. This is followed by ten chapters examining key theoretical issues and empirical experiences of popular representation and a policy-oriented conclusion. A large number of scholars have participated in seminars, conferences, and discussions within the CPD network. In addition to the authors presented in this volume, we wish to acknowledge the contributions to the 2006 conference from Sofian Asgart, Winnie Bothe, Einar Braathen, Siri Hellevik, Preben Kaarsholm, Ilda Lourenco-Lindell, Ansa Masaud, Aris Arif Mundayat, Marianne Millstein, Ragnhild Muriaas, Debbie Prabawati, Anang Eko Priyono, Gyda Marås Sindre, Nur Iman Subono, Anne

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Margrethe Sønneland, Nicolas Warouw, Jayadeva Uyangoda, and Berit Aasen. We are also grateful to the network coordinator Emine Isciel for organising the 2006 conference; to Lars Rudebeck, Lars Engberg-Pedersen, and an anonymous reviewer for valuable comments on earlier drafts; and to the Norwegian Research Council for providing funding for the CPD network.

Contributors

Gianpaolo Baiocchi is associate professor of sociology and international studies at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States. He writes on urban politics, participation, and social theory. His most recent book, which is titled Making Spaces for Civil Society (with Patrick Heller and Marcelo Silva), is due out in 2009. Björn Beckman is professor of political science at Stockholm University, Sweden, with a teaching background in Nigeria. He does research mostly on trade unions in West and South Africa. His publications include Union Power in the Nigerian Textile Industry (with Gunilla Andrae, 1999), Labour Regimes and Liberalization: The Restructuring of State-Society Relations in Africa (edited with Lloyd Sachikonye, 2001), and Trade Unions and Party Politics: Labour Movements in Africa (edited with Sakhela Buhlungu and Lloyd Sachikonye, 2009). Lars Buur is senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies and Research Associate at Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research. He has co-edited State Recognition and Democratization in Sub-Saharan Africa (2007) and The Security-Development Nexus (2007). Neera Chandhoke is professor of political science and director of the Developing Countries Research Centre, University of Delhi, India. Her publications include The Conceits of Civil Society (2003), Beyond Secularism: The Rights of Religious Minorities (1999), and The State and Civil Society: Explorations in Political Theory (1995). She is currently completing a manuscript on The Right of Secession: A Normative Enquiry. Jos Chathukulam is the director of the Centre for Rural Management, Kottayam, Kerala, India. John Harriss is the director of the new School for International Studies at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was previously director of the Development Studies Institute of the London School of Economics. He has long-standing interests in the society, politics, and the political economy of India. He is the author,

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CONTRIBUTORS

with Stuart Corbridge, of Reinventing India: Economic Liberalization, Hindu Nationalism and Popular Democracy (2000) and of Depoliticizing Development: the World Bank and Social Capital (2001). Patrick Heller is associate professor of sociology at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States. He is the author of The Labor of Development: Workers and the Transformation of Capitalism in Kerala, India (1999) and a co-author of Social Democracy in the Periphery (2007). He has written on a range of topics on India, South Africa, and Brazil, including democratic deepening, the politics of decentralisation, local democracy, middle-class politics, and social movements. Peter P. Houtzager is an IDS fellow and a visiting scholar at the Centro Brasileiro de Analise e Planejamento (CEBRAP) in São Paulo, Brazil. His focus is on comparative politics and collective action. His writings include Changing Paths – International Development and the New Politics of Inclusion (2003), and Os últimos cidadãos – Moidernicxxaçõa e conflito no Brasil rural (1964–1995) (2004). Adrian Gurza Lavalle has been a fellow researcher at the Brazilian Centre for Analysis and Planning (CEBRAP) since 2001, and he currently serves as research director. He is a professor in political science at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. His focus is on political theory: comparative politics and civil society. His main field of research is on the politics of civil organisations. His writings include Beyond Comparative Anecdotalism: Lesson on Civil Society and Participation from São Paulo, Brazil (2005), In Whose Name – Political Representation and Civil Organizations in Brazil (2006), and Vida pública e identidade nacional – Leituras Brasileiras (2004). Nathan Quimpo. A long-time political activist in the Philippines before turning to an academic career, Nathan Quimpo has taught at the University of the Philippines and the University of Amsterdam and is currently an associate professor of political science and international relations at the University of Tsukuba, Japan. Quimpo has authored Contested Democracy and the Left in the Philippines after Marcos (2008) and co-edited The U.S., the War on Terror and the Philippines (2008). His research interests include democracy and democratisation, conflict and peace studies, Southeast Asian politics, ethnicity and nationalism, political corruption, and political and social movements. Elin Selboe holds a Ph.D. degree in human geography from the University of Oslo, Norway. She has researched local mobilisation and politics in Senegal, and her dissertation is entitled Changing

CONTRIBUTORS

xiii

Continuities: Multi-Activity in the Network Politics of Colobane, Dakar (2008). Selboe’s research interests include the dynamics of social networks and participation in associational life in the context of economic crisis, changes in political Islam, and processes of democratisation. Kristian Stokke is professor of human geography at the University of Oslo, Norway, specialising in movement politics and democratisation in South Africa and conflict transformation and peace building in Sri Lanka. His most recent books include Democratising Development: The Politics of Socio-economic Rights in South Africa (edited with Peris Jones, 2005) and Politicising Democracy: The New Local Politics of Democratisation (edited with John Harriss and Olle Törnquist, 2004). P. K. Michael Tharakan is vice chancellor of Kannur University, Kerala, India. He was formerly Sri Ramakrishna Hegde Chair Professor in Decentralisation and Governance at the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore, India; a member of the faculty at the Centre for Development Studies (CDS), Thiruvananthapuram, India; and the director of the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA), Thrissur, India. Olle Törnquist is professor of political science and development research at the University of Oslo, Norway. He is the author of several works on popular politics and democracy, the supervisor of the participatory democracy surveys in Indonesia, and co-director of the new education and research program on Power, Conflict and Democracy in South and Southeast Asia. His most recent book (with Prasetyo and Birks) is Aceh: The Role of Democracy for Peace and Reconstruction. Gerry van Klinken is a senior researcher with the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV). He coordinates a research program about provincial middle classes and youth called In Search of Middle Indonesia. After a previous career teaching physics and geophysics in Southeast Asia, he moved to Asian Studies with a dissertation in Indonesian history in 1996. His most recent monograph is Communal Violence and Democratization in Indonesia: Small Town Wars (2007). Neil Webster is a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies where he heads the Politics and Governance Research Unit. He has published extensively on local politics and development issues in India. Recent books include the co-edited volume In the Name of the Poor: Contesting Political Space for Poverty Reduction (2002) and the co-authored work Do the Poor Matter Enough? A Comparative Study of European Aid for Poverty Reduction in India (2002).

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Introduction: The Problem Is Representation! Towards an Analytical Framework Olle Törnquist

T

he point of departure in this book is that the current stagnation of democracy in the post-colonial world is due to the depoliticisation of important public issues and interests. Major public concerns have become matters of technocratic governance or privatised to the market as well as communal, patronage, and privileged citizens’ networks. The introductory chapter argues that the root-cause is flawed representation: flawed representation emanating from both elitist institution building and fragmented citizen participation. Hence, a case is made for the need to rethink popular representation and develop methods that are more democratic. An analytical framework is outlined to that end. This framework draws on the insights from the subsequent chapters, in the context of the wider discourse. These chapters in turn focus on critical theoretical issues and empirical experiences in comparative perspective.1 Depoliticisation and the Primacy of Representation

The state of democracy in the Global South is marked by a striking paradox: although liberal democracy has attained an ideologically hegemonic position through several so-called waves of democracy,2 the qualities of such democracies are increasingly called into question. The few ‘old’ democracies in the Global South, like India and Sri Lanka, are weakened.3 They emerged in the struggle for state sovereignty and citizenship against colonialism and feudal-like subordination of people. The basic

2

OLLE TÖRNQUIST

argument was about the need for social, economic, and political modernisation toward democracy. This called for structural change, however: some said the expansion of market-based capitalism; others said socialist road maps. One debate was about what classes and groups would be interested in and able to propel strategies and reforms such as redistribution of land. Another debate was whether and how democracy was a realistic political project given the deficit of structural preconditions. In any case, democracy deficits are now apparent within constitutional and institutional arrangements as well as in political practices. In addition, the second wave of democracy in the South (or, globally speaking, the third wave) seems to be over. This path was associated with the countries and peoples that did not make it in the first round or that backslide into authoritarian or even dictatorial rule. The subsequent crisis of these regimes, the generally felt need among dissidents to foster basic human rights, the rare ability of popularly rooted forces to present a strong alternative (with the major exception of South Africa), and the strong interest among international actors in promoting global liberalisation, generated transitions that were more about elitist designing of minimum democratic institutions than more substantive institutions, popular capacities, and policies to promote the structural conditions and relations of power that had hitherto been deemed crucial for genuine democratic development. Typically, the incumbents among the powerful elites gave up authoritarianism as long as they could privatise and legalise decades of accumulation of capital through political monopolies and coercive instruments of power, so-called primitive accumulation of capital. In return, the dissidents agreed to constrain popular participation and radical change, as long as there was agreement (at least on paper) on basic liberties, human rights, and certain elements of democracy. The common scholarly and political argument was that once the right institutions were in place with regard to justice, basic rights, elections, ‘good governance’, freedom of media, and civil society participation, democracy would fl...