New Democratic Spaces?

The politics of voice in

institutionalised participation
 Spaces of power

‘Space is fundamental in any

exercise of power’ (Foucault
1984:252); every space has a
‘generative past’ (Lefebvre 1991)
 Participation for what?

z Efficiency? Legitimacy? Democracy?

z Improve access, quality of care
z Enhance accountability
z Influence the type/range of services or
treatments on offer
z Build or strengthen partnerships between
publics, providers and bureaucrats in
shaping & implementing health policies
z Encourage more active citizenship
Spaces for engagement

Invited/ Popular
Official Societal
Transient i.e. i.e. popular
participatory protest
appraisal
Regularised i.e. health i.e. citizen
council health watch
group
 Participation as whom?
z as beneficiaries, consumers or citizens?
z as users and choosers, or rights-holders
and duty-bearers?
z as “affected groups”, as “civil society”, as
“communities”, as “the general public”..
z invited, selected or self-selected?
z ‘speaking about’, ‘speaking for’ or
‘speaking as’?
z identities and identifications – how those
who participate are represented in others’
minds
Sites for engagement &
influence
Associational
spaces

Social and
“Informal”
domestic
institutions
spaces
Invited space

Arenas of Arenas of
Formal bureaucratic
politics encounters
 Inclusion and voice
z Whose space?
z Traces of identities, agendas,
relationships, attitudes in one space can
impinge on interactions in others
z Terms of engagement – language,
expertise, positionality
z ‘New ways’ can transform ‘old spaces’ –
‘old ways’ in newly created spaces can
maintain the status quo
Transforming Relations of Rule

z Transforming the nature of discourse

within ‘invited spaces’
{Changing the rules of the game: seating, choice
of meeting space, rules for choosing
representatives, reaching decisions, for how long
people can speak, for the way issues are
presented, ‘unfamiliar’ methods
z Engagement with other spaces to build
capacities for voice:
{Building confidence, skills of argumentation,
information about rights & entitlements, and the
policies that they are being consulted about
Spaces for Change Framework: DRC on Citizenship,
Participation & Accountability
Effects,
outcomes,
Advocacy,
changes, other
deliberation,
political effects
Policy and provision networks
Making demands
legible to state Managing conflicts
Personal
changes/citizenship/
Other Invited spaces learning/history/legal
frameworks
Spaces (formal
Politics of
politics; building/
social engaging
institutions
movements Representatives
etc.)
Politics of
building
representation

Actors (collective and Identity formation

individual) Agenda building