Political capabilities for democratisation in Uganda : good governance or popular organisation building?

King, SD

Abstract

Opinion is divided about the capacity of civil society organisations (CSOs) to enhance the political capabilities of disadvantaged groups in neopatrimonial contexts, and particularly through a hegemonic paradigm which seeks to advance poverty reduction through good governance. Drawing on a qualitative study of CSOs in western Uganda, this paper argues that strategies focused on increasing the participation of rural citizens in formal decentralised planning spaces may be less effective in enhancing their political capabilities than those facilitating social mobilisation through the formation of producer groups and federations. This has important implications for thinking and practice around popular empowerment in sub-Saharan
Africa.

Citation

King, S. (2015). Political capabilities for democratisation in Uganda : good governance or popular organisation building?. Third World Quarterly, 36(4), 741-757. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2015.1024436

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: May 18, 2015
• Publication Date: May 18, 2015
• Deposit Date: Jul 6, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 6, 2016
• Journal: Third World Quarterly
• Print ISSN: 0143-6597
• Publisher: Routledge
• Volume: 36
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 741-757
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2015.1024436
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2015.1024436
• Related Public URLs: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9530-8160; http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ctwq20#.V3zfpq32bcs