Decentralisation and citizen participation in West Africa
In this introductory article I address decentralisation as a series of political, economic and cultural practices currently at work in West African local arenas. I develop a conceptual reflection of how the local is invented and mobilised through the mundane daily decentralisation practices. The ver...
Gorde:
| Argitaratua izan da: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/apad, |
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| Egile nagusia: | |
| Formatua: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Hizkuntza: | Français |
| Argitaratua: |
Bulletin de l’APAD
2010
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| Sarrera elektronikoa: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Gaia: | In this introductory article I address decentralisation as a series of political, economic and cultural practices currently at work in West African local arenas. I develop a conceptual reflection of how the local is invented and mobilised through the mundane daily decentralisation practices. The very definition of the local is problematic and subject to different interpretations and meanings, and I argue that we need to simultaneously study political, economic and cultural dimensions to understand decentralisation. To focus on the invention and mobilisation of the local allows us to grasp how specific social categories (e.g. ‘women’ or ‘the poor’) may be discursively included, while being practically excluded. In conclusion, I argue for the integration of a cultural analysis – not a culturalist one – of decentralisation and citizen participation in order to understand the heat and intensity of public debate, and the strong emotions related to what at first glance may seem to be marginal political and economic issues. |
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