Decentralization, Democratization, and Informal Power in Mexico

Decentralization, Democratization, and Informal Power in Mexico
Author: Andrew Selee
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 197
Release: 2015-10-20
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0271075325

In the last two decades of the twentieth century, many countries in Latin America freed themselves from the burden of their authoritarian pasts and developed democratic political systems. At the same time, they began a process of shifting many governmental responsibilities from the national to the state and local levels. Much has been written about how decentralization has fostered democratization, but informal power relationships inherited from the past have complicated the ways in which citizens voice their concerns and have undermined the accountability of elected officials. In this book, Andrew Selee seeks to illuminate the complex linkages between informal and formal power by comparing how they worked in three Mexican cities. The process of decentralization is shown to have been intermediated by existing spheres of political influence, which in turn helped determine how much the institution of multiparty democracy in the country could succeed in bringing democracy “closer to home.”

Foundations for Public Administration Science in the 21st Century

Foundations for Public Administration Science in the 21st Century
Author: Luis Humberto Fernández Fuentes
Publisher: INAP
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2016
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 6079026538

This book is About the Science of Public Administration about what we know and what we need to know about it, as well as what we can do to make science more useful to the state and society. The disarticulation between the Science of Public Administration and the administrative practice of the XXI century causes that the public administrator does not have the theoretical elements and the sufficient tools for the efficient and effective treatment of public affairs. The administration Public and its science have to be rethought not only from their inheritance, but also from their potential to provide intellectual tools and practices that increase public capacity.That is ,make a stronger,smarter and more efficient state, which can only be achieved with a solid and useful body of knowledge. From the detailed study of the State, the Science of Public Administration and its practice,facing the current needs of the governments,the autor proposes elements for its consolidation and strengthening in the XXI century.

The Oxford Handbook of Mexican Politics

The Oxford Handbook of Mexican Politics
Author: Roderic Ai Camp
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 839
Release: 2012-02-16
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0195377389

A comprehensive view of the remarkable transformation of Mexico's political system to a democratic model. The contributors to this volume assess the most influential institutions, actors, policies and issues in the country's current evolution toward democratic consolidation.

A Modern Guide to Local and Regional Politics

A Modern Guide to Local and Regional Politics
Author: Copus, Colin
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2022-02-04
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1839103450

Utilising international material to explore the roles, functions, tasks, responsibilities, powers and actions of intra-state politicians and the institutions to which they are elected, this insightful book examines how local and regional authorities are pivotal in the democratic and governing arrangements of different countries.

Gobierno Abierto: Un análisis de su adopción en los Gobiernos Locales desde las Políticas Públicas

Gobierno Abierto: Un análisis de su adopción en los Gobiernos Locales desde las Políticas Públicas
Author: Edgar Alejandro Ruvalcaba Gómez
Publisher: INAP
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2019-06-02
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 8473516788

El uso masificado de las nuevas tecnologías y la progresiva democratización de Internet han supuesto múltiples transformaciones de la realidad social en los últimos años. Los gobiernos están intentando brindar respuestas a las nuevas formas de interacción social presentes en el panorama cotidiano. Dentro de este esfuerzo, la incorporación de estrategias tecnológicas que permitan diseñar modelos alternativos de gestión pública surgen como una necesidad.En este contexto de configuración de nuevas estrategias de gestión pública se ha producido el surgimiento de un nuevo modelo que ha despertado la atención de académicos, funcionarios públicos y sociedad civil: el Gobierno Abierto (GA). Este modelo emergente propone reinventar la forma de gobernar introduciendo elementos que combinan el uso de nuevas tecnologías y fortalecen los valores democráticos.

Democratizing the State

Democratizing the State
Author: Ernesto Isunza Vera
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 178
Release: 2024-11-04
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 3111062856

Democratic institution-building experiences, innovative forms of social organization, and the development of multiple state-society interfaces represent a significant political phenomenon in Latin America in the last half-century. By comparing the two largest countries of the subcontinent, Brazil and Mexico, Democratizing the State examines social accountability and social control regimes. These regimes are conceived configurations of relationships between actors, organizational structures, norms, and resources, all arranged in a stable and institutionalized manner to exert social control over state actors and functions. The book addresses the contrasting characteristics and different functions through which the citizenry and civil society exert control over state action in both countries. Characterizing these experiences broadly as regimes is novel and enlightening regarding the work of practitioners and scholars on political participation, social accountability, and democracy in the global South and the global North.

Sustainable Development Research and Practice in Mexico and Selected Latin American Countries

Sustainable Development Research and Practice in Mexico and Selected Latin American Countries
Author: Walter Leal Filho
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 540
Release: 2017-11-27
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319705601

This book provides an essential overview of sustainable development research in Mexico. It discusses the empirical research methods and findings, as well as practical initiatives and projects being pursued in Mexico and other countries in the region. Although a number of Mexican universities are now conducting high-quality research on matters related to sustainable development, there are few publications that offer a multidisciplinary overview of research efforts for a broader audience. This book addresses that gap in the literature, providing researchers at Mexican universities – including those from other countries working in Mexico – with an opportunity to present their work, i.e. curriculum innovations, empirical work, activities, case studies, and practical projects. As such, it fosters the exchange of information, ideas and experiences, successful initiatives and best practices.

Communes and Workers' Control in Venezuela

Communes and Workers' Control in Venezuela
Author: Dario N. Azzellini
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 315
Release: 2016-10-05
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9004331751

In Communes and Workers' Control in Venezuela: Building 21st Century Socialism from Below, Dario Azzellini offers an account of the Bolivarian Revolution from below. While authors on Venezuela commonly concentrate on former president Hugo Chávez and government politics, this book shows how workers, peasants and the poor in urban communities engage in building 21st century socialism through popular movements, communal councils, communes and fighting for workers' control. In a relationship of cooperation and conflict with the state, social transformation is approached on 'two tracks', from below and from above. Azzellini’s fascinating account stands out because of the extensive empirical examples and original voices from movements, communal councils, communes and workers.

Deepening Local Democracy in Latin America

Deepening Local Democracy in Latin America
Author: Benjamin Goldfrank
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 190
Release: 2015-09-10
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0271074515

The resurgence of the Left in Latin America over the past decade has been so notable that it has been called “the Pink Tide.” In recent years, regimes with leftist leaders have risen to power in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Uruguay, and Venezuela. What does this trend portend for the deepening of democracy in the region? Benjamin Goldfrank has been studying the development of participatory democracy in Latin America for many years, and this book represents the culmination of his empirical investigations in Brazil, Uruguay, and Venezuela. In order to understand why participatory democracy has succeeded better in some countries than in others, he examines the efforts in urban areas that have been undertaken in the cities of Porto Alegre, Montevideo, and Caracas. His findings suggest that success is related, most crucially, to how nationally centralized political authority is and how strongly institutionalized the opposition parties are in the local arenas.

Towards Democratic Viability

Towards Democratic Viability
Author: J. Crabtree
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 251
Release: 2015-12-22
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 140390524X

The book traces the twin processes of economic liberalization and political democratization in Bolivia since the 1980s, placing both in their historical context. By focusing on the issue of democratic 'viability', it seeks to raise the broader question of the relationship between democratization and the socio-economic context in which it takes place. In particular, it examines the institutional reforms of the early 1990s - praised by the World Bank and others - and considers their achievements and limitations.