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Democratization with Inclusion: Political Reforms and People's Empowerment at the Grassroots

Author: J Manor
Date: 2004
Size: 24 pages

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Summary

In recent years, many governments in developing countries have democratised their political systems. However, this process has not automatically benefited poor people. Many governments in developing countries have recently undertaken political reforms to promote the empowerment and inclusion of ordinary people, especially the poor. This Journal of Human Development article reviews these reforms and looks at how they can be measured and facilitated.

There is more to poverty than low incomes and a scarcity of assets. Poor people also suffer from problems such as illiteracy, disease and malnutrition, and are the least capable of articulating their concerns or accessing the political system. Political reforms that aim to include the poor can help to ensure that what the government delivers conforms to popular preferences by giving local people some influence over the policy process, and also inspiring disadvantaged groups to engage in the policy process.

Reforms can make a government more open, responsive and accountable, and can increase its legitimacy and popularity, even when conditions are difficult. Disadvantaged groups also benefit from reforms as they may gain confidence, skills, connections and their organisational strength may grow. Specific findings are that:

Decentralisation can assist the poor. However, increased participation without downward accountability of government actors to local residents and their representatives is insufficient.
Local councils can be effective and can adapt policies to local conditions, although they tend to be under funded. However, they have not really contributed to economic growth or eased poverty and social exclusion.
User-committees empower people far less than they claim to. Their funding normally comes from donors, they deal with single sectors, they are less democratic and cannot adapt policies to local conditions.
Successful reforms can reduce cynicism amongst the poor and increase information flows between governments and people at the local level.
Social funds often undermine elected local councils and other bottom-up participatory mechanisms.
Many pro-poor organisations claim inaccurately that they have effective networks. Enlightened civil society organisations, however, are especially helpful in providing direct help to the poor.

Devices need to be put in place to promote downward accountability, bottom-up participation and greater responsiveness to ordinary people. Key recommendations are that:

For local councils to work well, three things are needed: adequate powers must be devolved; adequate resources must be devolved and reliable mechanisms to ensure downward accountability must be created.
Governments are best to steer clear of direct involvement in microfinance and training. Local councils should have influence over social funds.
There are several ways to assist poorer groups – extra funds can be channelled to poorer regions, seats on local councils can be reserved for poor, socially excluded groups and filled by election and not nomination.
Integrated local councils and user-committees are the best way to ensure that local residents or elected members have significant impact on decisions and can solve funding and other problems.
Senior figures should put disincentives in place to discourage resistance from lower-level bureaucrats.
Support is needed from broad social coalitions of the poor and non-poor. They should be brought together to include elements of reform that are acceptable to both parties.

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Source: Manor, J., 2004, ‘Democratization with Inclusion: Political Reforms and People's Empowerment at the Grassroots’, Journal of Human Development, volume 5, issue 1, pp. 5 -29
Author: James Manor , james.manor@sas.ac.uk
Institute of Development Studies , http://www.ids.ac.uk