'But you can't compare Malawi and Ireland!' - shifting boundaries in a globalised world

Although global influences - in the form of international finance coupled with discourses of partnership, participation, good governance, and democracy - exercise an increasing influence on national and local governance arrangements worldwide, comparative studies across the traditional South/North divide remain extremely rare. Drawing on findings from a comparative study of Malawi's PRSP and Ireland's national Social Partnership process, this article demonstrates that a shifting of conceptual boundaries beyond traditionally delineated geographic borders is not just valid but essential, in that it helps to reveal new perspectives on the politics underlying globalised development processes and the transformative potential of those processes

Globalising resistance: social movement activism in Malawi

Attendant with the rise of the good governance discourse of the 1990s and beyond, contemporary research on social activism in Africa has tended to be rooted in normalised conceptions of civil society operating in partnership with the state. The proliferation of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) over this period has attracted considerable attention from international donors and researchers alike – so much so that, for many, NGOs have now become synonymous with civil society. As a consequence, considerable gaps are evident in the literature on social movement activism and what this means in specific African contexts. Drawing from an empirical study of political and social activism in Malawi over a six year period (2000-2006), this paper aims at making a contribution in this regard, focusing on the agency and activism of a civic network of organisations and individuals known as the Malawi Economic Justice Network (MEJN). Arguing that MEJN constitutes a social movement in that it embodies many of the associated characteristics identified within literature (a decentralised structure; an emphasis on popular participation and direct democracy; a dynamic membership; and a strong internal solidarity (Pichardo, 1997; della Porta and Diani, 1999; della Porta, 2009), the paper follows the journey of the network – from its genesis within the Jubilee campaign for debt cancellation, to its consolidation through the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) process, to its fragmentation with the attraction of donor funding, to its re-invigoration through challenges posed by its local district membership base – and identifies both the enabling factors and the constraints to its success in effecting social and political change over this time. MEJN’s experience and journey demonstrates the increasingly globalised nature of African social movement activism and highlights both the opportunities and constraints to strategies for change posed by this globalisation

In-active citizenship and the depoliticisation of community development in Ireland

At a time of rising stress for communities, families and individuals coupled with a growing disillusionment with government, the concept of ‘active citizenship’ has arrived as a salve to many of the social ills of our time. Emphasising citizen’s own responsibilities, and espousing values of solidarity, community and neighbourliness, active citizenship embodies all that is good, rendering it somewhat immune from criticism. While agreeing that community values of solidarity and neighbourliness are indeed critical, this paper takes issue with what it argues is a significant revisioning of the three core concepts embodied within active citizenship - citizenship, social capital and community development - and argues that active citizenship, as it is currently promoted by state and select civil society organisations alike, substitutes self-help for redistribution and self-reliance for state accountability, in the process depoliticising the principles and practice of community development and denying community actors a voice in their own development

In from the margins: development and internationalisation within Irish universities

Universities in Ireland, as elsewhere, are under severe pressure – indeed in crisis according to some commentators. The nature of this crisis is two-fold. First, increasing enrolment figures coupled with dwindling state support leaves universities facing severe financial challenges. Second, and perhaps more critically, the very idea and fundamental role of the university is being challenged through the shifting nature of knowledge(s) and the changing needs of an increasingly complex global society. University “internationalisation” policies and strategies, in remaining narrowly focused on raising revenue through fee-paying international students, are missing valuable opportunities for addressing these wider challenges. Despite the rapidly changed nature of society in Ireland, recent surveys indicate that graduates remain poorly equipped with the skills and knowledge to engage meaningfully with contemporary global issues both at home (e.g. migration, multiculturalism) and abroad (e.g. global trade policy, causes of civil unrest). In the context of broader debates on the role of and function of universities within contemporary globalised societies, this paper argues for a broadening of the conception and resultant strategies of internationalisation to include a mainstreaming of development education so that Irish universities become more adept at fulfilling their mandates of equipping students with a set of knowledge, skills and values to allow them to contribute more fully and meaningfully to economic, political and social life, both at home and abroad. Drawing on the preliminary results of empirical research conducted by the Irish-African Partnership for Research Capacity Building within all nine universities on the island, the paper highlights both opportunities and constraints to such a mainstreaming. At a time when Irish universities face growing competition in the increasingly diverse field of knowledge production, and at a time when Ireland’s 0.7 per cent commitment is under threat, this paper offers some practical pointers for developing a greater global responsiveness and engagement within the Irish higher education sector

Rounds pegs in square holes? Development education, the formal sector and the global knowledge economy

Education is at a critical juncture. While its role and effectiveness in nurturing a sense of values, critical enquiry and civic engagement have been debated for centuries1 , such debates have been eclipsed in recent years by the new language and exigencies of the global economy. Talk of civic values, justice, transformation, and flourishing has been replaced with talk of efficiency, performance, competition, and employment. A range of new forces, influences and technologies has entered the field and the work in rewriting the scope, ambition and mission of our schools and colleges, together with that of their students, is almost complete. As the contributions to this volume ably demonstrate, this new vision for education – one that places it at the service of the global economy rather than society more broadly, building ‘knowledge economies’ rather than ‘knowledge societies’, poses significant challenges to development educators. Attempting to introduce development education, with its critical and transformative approaches and practices, into these formal spaces is akin to attempting to drive a round peg into a square hole. There are scrapes and splinters. At times the peg does not fit at all, yet at times it finds its way. And, as many of the articles in this volume demonstrate, driving the peg through requires considerable imagination, determination and ingenuity as well as an acute appreciation of the precise parameters and context within which manoeuvre is possible

Opportunities for citizen participation in local governance in Burundi

One of the three objectives of Trócaire’s new Governance and Human Rights programme (2011-2014) is “to increase the effective participation of citizens, especially women, the poor and marginalised, in local government decision and policy-making processes.” (Trócaire, 2011b: 11). As a first step towards this objective, this research aimed at investigating the effectiveness of and opportunities for citizen participation within the country’s evolving decentralisation process. The research was conducted over the period May-September, 2011 with a feedback workshop presenting preliminary findings held with programme partners in Bujumbura in September. Research findings are presented and analysed in three principle sections. The first section draws from a wide range of studies conducted on decentralisation processes elsewhere in Africa to identify the benefits of the process and draw lessons from experiments in decentralisation elsewhere. The potential benefits of the process are identified as increasing local government responsibility and accountability to citizens; increasing local government flexibility to address diverse needs of citizens; reducing corruption through enhanced oversight; and fostering the dispersal of power across citizens and communities. These benefits are thought to lead to greater social and political stability while affording citizens a greater voice in both overseeing an influencing local government. The lessons on the ground from decentralisation experiments elsewhere reveal that these benefits are not guaranteed however. Key lessons include the fact that decentralisation is a long-term process, not a short-term solution and that, in the absence of active citizen engagement, can result in negative outcomes. Studies of processes elsewhere reveal that legal and political frameworks on their own are not enough; the importation of Western structures and institutions without due recognition of local structures results in failure; state commitment is key, as is fiscal and financial transparency at a local level; and that citizen participation is by no means guaranteed with widespread public distrust of and disaffection from political structures and processes mitigating against such participation. A brief section on the history of decentralisation in Burundi reveals that, although the current process and procedures are new, decentralisation has had a long history in the country dating back to the colonial period. Contrary to the policy and procedures currently in place, decentralisation in the past has been implemented in a top-down manner, with accountability running upward from citizens to political authorities rather than downward resulting in a depletion of local resources and the political and social exclusion of citizens. Examining the government’s relevant legislative and policy texts for decentralisation today, it becomes clear that the government’s aim is now to reverse this exclusion with policy and procedures aimed at the active participation of citizens in planning and decision-making on developmental priorities within their local areas. The different opportunities for citizen participation in local processes together with local government accountability mechanisms are set out in this section. Having examined the theory and policy of decentralisation, the second main findings section draws from field research in eight communes across the country to analyse how decentralisation works in practice. This section builds on comprehensive studies carried out on the process to date (see OAG, 2007, 2009, 2010; ABELO, 2009; Baltissan and Sentamba, 2011; Sentamba, 2011), to focus on an as yet understudied area – levels of citizen participation and local government accountability on the ground. The principle finding is that although locally elected officials at commune level demonstrate a good understanding and knowledge of the ethos, procedures and mechanisms for local accountability and citizen participation, local citizens themselves remain largely unaware of these. At hill level it is found that both hill council members and citizens are aware of just one of the three principle functions of hill councils. Consequently, as there is little incentive or pressure to operationalise these procedures, valuable opportunities for citizen participation are being overlooked, and local processes at present are falling short of the outcomes and results set out in government policy. The third section discusses research findings in more detail to explore why this is the case. Four key issues pertinent to the roll-out of Trócaire’s GHR programme are identified. First, the importance of political history and culture are underlined and it is argued that, in the past, Burundi’s people have been treated more as subjects than citizens, with echoes of this past filtering through into contemporary political and social relations. Second, it is argued that, contrary to many other donor and NGO interventions in this area, the key obstacle may not be local capacity but rather local willingness to go against the grain and engage in the radical transformation of political and social relations required by the process. Third, given the enormity of the task in challenging these relations, it is argued that information provision / awareness raising / sensibilisation techniques alone will be insufficient. An intensive accompaniment of citizens in participating in the various structures is proposed. Fourth, and finally, a key challenge identified is overcoming both widespread (and understandable) disaffection with political life and the active exclusion – by both the state but also by family, friends and neighbours – of certain groups (notably women and members of the Batwa community) from public life. The final section of the report re-sets the decentralisation process within the broader context of Burundi’s difficult past. Acknowledging that Trócaire’s partners face a formidable task in supporting citizens in their active and sustained participation within local structures, it is argued that the comprehensive and robust framework in place at local level for citizen participation offers a real opportunity to transform the inherently inequitable and oppressive system of the past. Failure to do so, it is argued, will lead only to frustration, anger and more conflict and it is clear that there is no appetite for more conflict and devastation on hills and within communes across the country. In this context a series of recommendations are made aimed at a coordinated, inclusive and intensive support to the process in targeted areas leading to tangible, meaningful and transformative outcomes for government and citizens alike

Bringing the citizen back In: supporting decentralisation in fragile states - a view from Burundi

While, in theory, decentralisation offers many benefits – increased efficiency and effectiveness of public service provision, reduced horizontal inequalities, and an associated consolidation of the social contract between states and their citizens, empirical evidence of these benefits remains limited. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in Burundi in 2011, this paper argues that the current donor emphasis on institution building alone as a support to the Burundian process proves insufficient. Evidence is presented to show that current support, while consolidating the authority of local political elites, reinforces political and horizontal inequalities thereby paving the way for further disaffection and conflict. Reflecting back to the initial aims of the process, a re-orientation in support is proposed, moving the focus beyond elite state actors and institutions and bringing citizens back into the process of state building and transformation