Chapter 5 From clients to participants? Alternative local governments and the limitations of participatory democracy in the neoliberal era, Saquisilí, Ecuador

Abstract

This chapter examines the role of actors operating within the context of participatory democratic institutions. The literature on radical democracy suggests that reforming democratic institutions to promote secondary associations, participation, and deliberative decision-making can radically transform states. Through an analysis of alternative local government (ALG) practices in Saquisilí, Ecuador, the chapter demonstrates that a variety of actors, with diverse motivations, constitute and operate within participatory institutions. Despite the radical discursive structure of the institutions, however, actors are able to creatively use those institutional spaces for other goals. The implication for radical democratic theory is that not all outcomes that have been read as unintended consequences are unintended.

Citation

Bane, M. (2010), "Chapter 5 From clients to participants? Alternative local governments and the limitations of participatory democracy in the neoliberal era, Saquisilí, Ecuador", Wejnert, B. (Ed.) Democratic Paths and Trends (Research in Political Sociology, Vol. 18), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 111-128. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0895-9935(2010)0000018009