Participatory Democracy
The Case of Parish Development Committees in Jamaica
Marc Anthony Thomas
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Participatory Democracy
The Case of Parish Development Committees in Jamaica
Marc Anthony Thomas
About This Book
In Participatory Democracy: The Case of Parish Development Committees in Jamaica, Marc Anthony Thomas expands the existing knowledge on participatory democracy. Parish development committees were established as a means for Jamaicans to inform government policy, and Thomas explores the extent to which supportive institutional, infrastructural and superstructural conditions allow for robust implementation of this democratization initiative. His analysis is bolstered by an appreciation of the emancipatory politics employed by the country's general population since slavery not only to survive oppression, but also to influence the nation's political agenda. Riots during slavery and in the present day, for example, have offered citizens an avenue towards self-determination.
The democratization initiative symbolized by parish development committees promotes inclusiveness yet is led predominantly by older, educated middle-class individuals with talents and capacities garnered from several years of experience in various fields. Thomas argues that the opportunity cost of a more inclusive order explains this fact, in that Jamaica's finite resources mean there is limited space for a learning curve and the cash-strapped committees have only been able to survive when their members could help to defray the cost of their operations.
By observing more than one hundred hours of parish development committee activities and interviewing sixty key informants and four focus groups, Thomas finds that the emergence, survival and thriving of parish development committees in Jamaica is determined largely by the extent to which emancipatory political tactics are successfully applied by committee stakeholders to combat a number of continuing challenges. His analysis provides a micro-scale view of the interaction of factors that have shaped the power and possibility of Jamaica's democratization initiative.
Frequently asked questions
Information
1.
Planting the Seeds of Jamaicaâs Democracy
Parish Development Committees
Parish Development Committees (PDCs), Development Area Committees (DACs) and Community Development Committees (CDCs) represent new institutional forms that have emerged in Jamaicaâs quest to create a new paradigm of participatory local governance, in which communities/civil society are made full partners in the quest for good governance and balanced/sustainable local development. They are key elements of the institutional framework for a new model of participatory governance that will vastly expand democratic practice in the society and help to renew/revitalize the political system â and create goodwill/commitment towards this system, by enabling the active participation of citizens in the policy/decision-making processes. It is also critical in empowering communities to have a greater say in managing their own affairs and determining their own destiny; in facilitating citizens to play a more active role in governance at the local level; and in unleashing the vast store of energy, talents, innovativeness and leadership that lie dormant in large sections of the population, but which are stifled by high levels of centralization and exclusion which limit their ability to contribute to local and national development.1
an inclusive, democratic, independent, non-political and voluntary organization which brings together all elements of civil society, governmental, quasi and non-governmental agencies and organizations in a parish or other local government jurisdiction. It is established for the primary purpose of facilitating local self-management and development processes within the parish, and promoting and facilitating the concepts, principles and practices of good governance and balanced and sustainable development within the local jurisdiction. It seeks to accomplish these goals by working through and in partnership with its corresponding Local Authority, and by promoting partnership, collaboration, coordination, cooperation and networking among all the diverse sectors, interest groups and stakeholders in the parish, and also by encouraging the adoption of positive values and attitudes, social harmony and stability, and respect for the parishâs culture, heritage and unique character.3