Bookreview of: Roland Brake and Ulrich Deller (eds): Community Development—A European Challenge

This edited volume contains more than 20 chapters of varying lengths on the topic of community development in various European countries (and one chapter from an American perspective). All contributions emerged from the EU-funded project ‘Community Care Approach: A Strategy for Social Inclusion’, running from around 2005 to 2008. The various chapters aim to deal with issues such as the relevance of community development approaches for the working practices of social work, how socio-economic projects are developed and implemented, assessing the experiences in the different countries and considering their applicability for other countries, and last but not least, the (negative) influence of politics on community work. The introductory chapter by the editors identifies the ‘tension between the official support [funding] on the one hand and the autonomous community development actions that are sometimes directed against the authorities on the other’ (Brake and Deller, 11) a

Explaining slow economic growth and poor social development indicators: The case of Morocco

Drawing on elements of a political economy framework, this paper addresses two inter-related questions with regard to economic growth and public expenditure patterns in Morocco. The main factors that help explain Morocco’s relatively slow economic growth for the last few decades have to do with problems of: • representation (policy makers mainly represented their own and family/clan interests rather than the public at large); • coordination (coordination among ministries is constrained by the centralized nature of information and power); and • commitment (to the trade and economic liberalization as well as privatization policies, linked to rent seeking activities by certain interests groups). An overarching trend is the disproportionate influence of political considerations on economic decisions. The paper illustrates this point with numerous examples, including the tax exemption of the agricultural sector. The second part of the paper identifies the main causes of Morocco’s disappointing social development indicators compared to other middle-income countries. These causes are mainly linked to unsatisfactory outcomes in the education sector, and weak pro-poor targeting of government programs, which can in turn be explained by political economy imperatives discussed in the first part of the paper

Constraints to strengthening public sector accountability through civil society: the case of Morocco

This paper discusses the extent to which civil society contributes to strengthening public sector accountability in Morocco. The main argument in this paper is that despite a few recent encouraging examples, civil society’s role in strengthening public sector accountability remains limited at both the national and local levels. This is due to three main reasons. The first relates to certain characteristics of the Moroccan governance system, including the dominance of upward accountability mechanisms, given the unique position of the King. The second set of reasons refers to certain internal features of the Moroccan civil society. The third reason can be found in civil society’s position with regard to its external environment, i.e., the nature of its relationships with the public sector in the form of both local governments and ministerial public administrations

To Know is to be empowered

Celia Reyes is senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, and is affiliated with the Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies at De La Salle University in Manila, Philippines. One of her major research interests is the impact of policies and programmes on poverty and equity. She directed the Micro Impacts of Macroeconomic Adjustment Policies (MIMAP) project in the Philippines, supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in Canada

Traditional village councils, modern associations, and the emergence of hybrid political orders in rural Morocco

This essay aims to emphasize the relevance and analytical usefulness of the concept of hybrid political orders with regard to a state and a society that is neither in a post-war nor peace-building situation. Rather, the case of rural Morocco illustrates how hybrid political orders emerge over time, in the context of post-colonial state-building in general, and in the context of decentralization reforms, the proliferation of participatory programs, and the growth of ‘‘civil society’’ in particular

Bookreview on: Jenny Pearce (ed.): Participation and Democracy in the Twenty-First Century City

This edited volume brings together six urban case studies (three in the UK and three in Latin America) that together try to ‘‘draw out the potentialities, record the transforming moments as well as recognise the limitations of new participation spaces’’ (p. 252). While it is not a comparative study, the volume claims to ‘‘offer insight into the conditions which make participation feasible, self-generating, meaningful and progressive and which do not’’ (p. 253). This book is the product of a two-year research project entitled ‘‘Municipal Innovations in Non-Governmental Public Participation UK/Latin America’’, funded by the UK’s Economic and Social Science Research Council

Can there be a developmental state in Morocco? Finding the right balance between autonomy and embeddedness

Abstract This paper draws on Peter Evans’ approach to the developmental state and applies it to examine the scope for state-society synergy at the local level in Morocco. In doing so, it highlights the usefulness of Evans’ concept of ‘embedded autonomy’ for theorizing about the developmental state. The paper studies the internal and interactive capacities of local government and local civil society organizations in Morocco. It argues that there are certain pre-conditions with regard to state capacity which enable complementarity and embeddedness to emerge. The main finding of the paper though (drawing on my extensive fieldwork in two rural municipalities in Morocco) is the high degree of political instrumentalisation that characterizes the relationships between local government and local civil society. The paper therefore aims to enrich the debate on the developmental state by emphasizing the importance of finding the right balance between autonomy and embeddedness if networks that cross the public-private divide are to lead to developmentally valuable outcomes

Partnerships as entities, agreements, and venues to interact: The case of the Uganda AIDS Commission and the Uganda HIV/AIDS Partnership

Partnerships as a framework for development have long been used in the delivery of public policy and programmes. However, the literature suggests that the concept of partnership is often uncritically used and partnerships are understood and practised differently in the delivery of public services. Yet there is little research on the discourse, interests and practices of partnership arrangements and the range of structural factors and agendas underlying these relationships. This article is based on a rapid assessment of the HIV/AIDS Partnership in Uganda as coordinated by the Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC) to explore: (i) how actors (and the UAC in particular) understand the concept of partnership in everyday development delivery and (ii) how actors (and the UAC in particular) practise the concept of partnersh

Plus ça Change? Observing the Dynamics of Morocco's ‘Arab Spring’ in the High Atlas

This contribution focuses on the ‘Arab Spring’ in Morocco and on the interactions between the mainly urban-based activists that made up the 20 February Movement (F20M), and the population in rural areas. Based on six weeks of fieldwork between November 2013 and March 2014, mostly in the areas in and near Marrakech, we find that while the urban F20M events stimulated and inspired protests in rural areas, in practice there were only sporadic contacts based on the activists’ personal feelings of belonging rather than their organizational membership. This is mainly due to discursive disconnects between the centre and periphery. As for the outcomes, in particular the new constitution, many respondents believe that nothing has changed so far