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Exploring the interactions among public opinion, governance, and the public sphere

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This blog is published by the Communication for Governance & Accountability Program (CommGAP).
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Civil Society

Access to Information: Different Contexts, One Essential Ingredient

Submitted by Darshana Patel on Tue, 10/06/2009 - 13:50

Andrew Puddephatt’s Exploring the Role of Civil Society in the Formulation and Adoption of Access to Information Laws defines the main contours of Access to Information (ATI) movements in 5 countries (Bulgaria, India, Mexico, South Africa and the United Kingdom).  In Bulgaria, ATI was established by an environmental eco-glasnost movement that emerged in a post-Communist society (glastnost meaning transparency). In India, the ATI movement was embedded in a larger, anti-corruption movement led by the rural poor communities.  In Mexico, a group of social activists and experts from academia and media conducted a targeted campaign for ATI just as Mexico was joining the OECD, NAFTA, and the WTO. The campaign for ATI in South Africa grew out of a post-apartheid civil society which recognized that information (or the systemic denial of it) was a key factor in perpetuating racial, social and economic inequality.  The movement for ATI in the United Kingdom was spearheaded by a specialist NGO that capitalized on a government in the process of implementing broader constitutional reforms.

Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing or the Nature of the Beast?

Submitted by Darshana Patel on Thu, 08/27/2009 - 13:51

Public deliberation as a political ideal represents the next frontier in democracy building. Public deliberation calls for dramatic changes in how political decisions are made. Through deliberative processes, citizens and not elected representatives, make decisions on how to manage their own resources. These decisions are reached according to the exchange of reasons and arguments that appeal to shared objectives or values. Decisions resulting from deliberation are more informed and rational. Under deliberative processes, political truths emerge not from competing ideas but through dialogue between citizens. Deliberative processes produce information as a by-product, not a precondition for participation.

Building Government Communication Capacity in a Time of Narrative Power Shifts

Submitted by Kristina Klinkforth on Mon, 03/16/2009 - 13:24

Debate about how the current information-abundant communication environment is impacting global politics has long entered the circles of communication practitioners and academics. However, findings remain mixed. Optimists argue that new information and communication technologies (ICTs) – mobile phones, commercially available satellite imagery, and, of course, the Internet – have fundamentally changed the power relationship between state and non-state actors such as NGOs, transnational advocacy networks, and citizens. Information is now available to various political actors at low cost, thus breaking the information monopoly of the nation-state. In turn, non-state actors gain in narrative power, understood as the capacity to generate, manage, and distribute information to the public.

The Public Sphere Model: Does It De-Emphasize Accountability?

Submitted by Shanthi Kalathil on Wed, 11/05/2008 - 10:14

I recently gave a talk about the importance of strengthening the public sphere in programs designed to build good governance. In this conceptualization, the public sphere is that space where free and equal citizens discuss, debate, and share information about public affairs in order to influence the policies that affect the quality of their lives. Existing at the cross-roads of media, civil society, public opinion, and state institutions, the public sphere forms an essential element of good governance and accountability.

During the talk, a question arose about whether the public sphere model actually discounted issues such as accountability in favor of building consensus between civil society, media, and government. In my view, this is absolutely not the case, but I can see how such questions arise.

Beyond Partnership

Submitted by Shanthi Kalathil on Thu, 09/04/2008 - 15:56

"Civil society is an important partner in the development process." Within the current development context, there's nothing particularly remarkable about this generic sentence. If anything, it merely reflects the now commonly espoused viewpoint that civil society should be considered an important constituency in development planning.

But perhaps it's time to more seriously interrogate the ubiquitous use of the word 'partner.' As Inigo Montoya once famously said in the movie The Princess Bride, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

Freedom of Information – Let’s Start Looking beyond the Law

Submitted by Paul Mitchell on Wed, 04/30/2008 - 14:07

Photo Credit: Trevor Samson, 2002 (WB)There is a lot of attention paid to Freedom of Information (FOI) Acts. The World Bank outlined some of the issues related to the subject both in a World Development Report in 2002, with a chapter on media and also in the book, The Right To Tell. Active research also went on afterwards to identify countries that had an FOI regime and those that did not.  There are clearly many benefits to the public in countries that have enacted FOI laws.