Claiming Citizenship: Rights Participation and Accountability

Series Editor: John Gaventa

Around the world, a growing crisis of legitimacy characterizes the relationship between citizens and the institutions that affect their lives. In both North and South, citizens speak of mounting disillusionment with government, based on concerns about corruption, lack responsiveness to the needs of the poor and the absence of a sense of connection with elected representatives and bureaucrats. Conventional forms of expertise and representation are being questioned. The rights and responsibilities of corporations and other global actors are being challenged, as global inequalities persist and deepen.

In response, this series argues, increased attention must be paid to re-examining contemporary understandings of rights and citizenship in different contexts, and their implications for related issues of participation and accountability. Challenging liberal understandings in which citizenship is understood as a set of rights and responsibilities bestowed by the state, the series looks at how citizenship is claimed and rights are realized through the agency and actions of people themselves.

Growing out of the work of an international network of researchers and practitioners from both the South and North, the volumes in this series explore a variety of themes, including locally rooted struggles for more inclusive forms of citizenship, the links between citizenship, science and globalization, the politics and dynamics of participation in new democratic arenas, and the relationships between claiming rights and ensuring accountability. Drawing from concrete case studies which focus on how people understand their citizenship and claim their rights, the volumes contribute new, empirically grounded perspectives to current debates related to deepening democracy, realizing rights-based development, and making institutions more responsive to the needs and voices of poor people.
http://www.drc-citizenship.org/

Citizen Action and National Policy Reform Making Change Happen Edited by John Gaventa and Rosemary McGee 'A treasure trove of ideas and experiences drawn from not just one, but eight fascinating examples of successful social and political change. Gaventa and McGee offer ideas, inspiration and hope to activists everywhere. Indispensable.' - Duncan McGreen, Head of Research, Oxfam House More information	Globalizing Citizens New Dynamics of Inclusion and Exclusion Edited by John Gaventa and Rajesh Tandon Globalizing Citizens explores how globalisation has given rise to new meanings of citizenship. Just as they are tied by global production, trade and finance, citizens in every nation are linked by the institutions of global governance and this brings new dynamics of inclusion, and exclusion. This expert new analysis presents case studies from cities and villages in India, South Africa, Nigeria, Philippines, Kenya, The Gambia, Brazil and South Africa to explore how new forms of global authority shape and build new meanings and practices of citizenship, across local, national and global arenas. More information
Citizenship and Social Movements Perspectives from the Global South Edited by Lisa Thompson and Chris Tapscott 'Analysing social movements in Bangladesh, India, Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria and South Africa, this book presents a distinct and diverse picture of collective action - and also shows how this picture defies many of the theoretical assumptions of Northern literature on the subject. With a combination of concerns with historical and contextual background, specific characteristics of states and political systems, and cultural and political identities, this thorough and sophisticated analysis of the struggles around citizenship and rights provides a splendid venue for the debate on the limits and possibilities of social mobilization in confronting the deeply rooted and multidimensional inequality of Southern societies.' - Evelina Dagnino, Professor at the Department of Political Science, University of Campinas, Brazil More information	Mobilising for Democracy Citizen Action and the Politics of Public Participation Edited by Vera Schattan P. Coelho and Bettina von Lieres This book is about how ordinary citizens and their organizations mobilize to deepen democracy. More information
Spaces For Change? The Politics of Citizen Participation in New Democratic Arenas Edited by Andrea Cornwall, University of Sussex, UK ‘The various contributions to this extremely significant volume, painstakingly and effectively bridge the chasm between normative theories of participative democracy on the one hand, and empirical analysis on the other. Democratic theorists and development practitioners will learn and cite from this volume for years to come.’ - Professor Neera Chandhoke, University of Delhi More information	Rights, Resources and the Politics of Accountability Edited by Peter Newell and Joanna Wheeler 'This book is fascinating because it tells stories about how poor and marginalized come together to negotiate and claim their rights to resources from the rich and the powerful.' - Chandra Bhushan, Head, Industry & Environment Centre and Associate Director of Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi More information
Inclusive Citizenship Meanings and Expressions Edited by Naila Kabeer 'How can human rights become part of the lived experience of those who continue to be denied those rights whether because of poverty, gender, ethnicity, caste or sexual orientation? This book develops a range of interesting cases documenting the promise and challenge of translating rights into reality. This is important, cutting edge work in the new discussions around rights, responsibilities, subjectivity and agency. Very highly recommended.' - Gita Sen Sir Ratan Tata Chair Professor & Chairperson, Centre for Public Policy Indian Institute of Management More information	Science and Citizens Globalization and the Challenge of Engagement Edited by Melissa Leach, Ian Scoones and Brian Wynne This volume is a unique blend of two, hitherto separate, streams of work - science and technology studies and development studies. It highlights the contrasting idealizations of citizens and citizenship underlying both mainstream science policy and critical perspectives. It raises fundamental questions about the central role that has been assigned to managing "risk" in the theory and practice of contemporary government. The southern perspective provides a timely warning that, far from being a panacea, escalating demands for public participation have paradoxical potential to disempower.' - Steve Rayner, James Martin Professor of Science and Civilization, University of Oxford More information

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Claiming Citizenship: Rights Participation and Accountability