Day 1: CONTEXT

Day 1: CONTEXT

Table of contents

The event starts by establishing the thematic and institutional context in which this workshop takes place. Putting the participants into the center, the question is put forward: What are the hottest issues in democracy and governance? The participants answer this question from two angles:  What are the hottest issues in regard to the themes governance and democracy and what are the priorities for the DLG networkMoving away from the institutional and thematic context to context realities on the ground, a  panel discussion on current challenges in democratization provides participants with a glimpse of the unlimited complexity when working on issues of governance and democracy.

In the afternoon participants join different  master class on a wide variety of issues: political economy, casual chain approach, decentralization and peace building, Egypt’s unfinished revolution, decentralization and social cohesion, and informal local governance. – Finally, something for your eye: VIDEO/PHOTO IMPRESSIONS & INSIGHTS


Key messages from day 1: reflecting on democratic movements

 

 

What are the hottest issues in democracy and governance?

Participants set the stage for the event by stating their hottest issues they face today. Blue cards focus on institutional issues in regard to the DLG network. They can be summarised into different categories: how we learn; policy in SDC; how we communicate.


 

Red cards enumerate the many unsolved questions in regard to the themes governance and democracy. Comments circulated around the following buzz words: fragility; context/transparency; democratization&local governance; promotion of democracy; inclusion of marginalized or voiceless; citizenship; actors; methods; defining&measuring success.

 

 

Current challenges in democratization: The revolts in Egypt, Kyrgyzstan and Macedonia

Four distinguished panelists, three types of revolts – or at least different approaches on how to transform their respective countries. That was the starting point of the opening panel held at the F2F on Monday morning.

  • Perihan AbuZaid (Egyptian Media promotion)
  • Gordan Georgiev (Macedonian MP)
  • Joomart Saparbaev (Kyrgyz MP)
  • AbdulMawgoud Dardery (Spokesperson Freedom and Justice Party, Foreign relations Committee, Egypt)

 

Mr. Dardery could be seen as a product of the Egyptian revolts, i.e. the University Professor joined politics only few months ago when the symbols of the former Egyptian regime have been ousted. Mr. Dardery offered the idea of a “Muslilm democracy” with equal rights for all. It might not come as a surprise that such positions presented by the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhoods (MB) stimulated a lively discussion. Perihan AbuZaid – possibly one of the most influential young entrepreneurs in the Middle East due to her democracy promoting internet platform called “Kabila” – challenged her co-citizen by underlining that she first and foremost wants to be respected as an Egyptian, not as a youngster, woman, or identified exclusively by her religious background.

However, the panelists touched equally up on the basic assumption that:

  • External democracy promotion relies on the assumption that democracy and development are interlinked

 

At least that’s what seems to be basic for the EU’s decision in 2007 to agree on a budget of US$ 1.1Mrd to be spent over the next seven years for democracy-related projects.

Gordan Georgiev referred to the “EU carrots, but not that much sticks” – policy regarding Macedonia’s pending EU candidacy.   The EU granted Macedonia the status of a candidate in late 2005 – only four years after the country had been on the brink of a civil war – but according to Mr. Georgiev “not much has changed since, as the system might be considered somewhat lazy”.

From the perspective of Joomart Saparbaev, the role of women in politics has become more important in the transition in Kyrgyzstan. The transition period was led by the first female president; moreover women are in leading positions in the government and parliament.

However, when discussing transformation, women as well as minority rights seem to be key issues as well as religion – or is it basically the political interpretation of Islam? – when talking about transformation processes the three countries are going through.

As these human-rights-based approach are at the heart of the matter for most (Western) donors, fundamental questions and requirements popping up might be:

  • How to support hybrid regimes in uncertain democratic systems rather than consolidate democracies?
  • Donors need to come to terms with the contradiction between long-term processes of democracy and the need for results
  • Donors need to recognize more explicitly that democracy assistance is inherently political
  • Donors need to avoid relying on an idealized blueprint of democracy that is not sensitive to context

 

In the video J. Saparbaev reflects on the democratization processes of the three countries.

 

 

Master classes

The afternoon is intended for in-depth discussions on different topics, called master classes. Each master class is facilitated by one or two resource persons.

 

MC-01: What factors matter – Context and social accountability (Anuradha Joshi, IDS)

There is consensus on the importance of context in explanations of success or failure of social accountability interventions. The session discusses how we might approach the issue of context given the current evidence base. We explore two broad approaches to context: a) a macro-country level approach rooted in political economy analysis through which one might identify enabling factors; and b) a macro-causal chain approach through which one might understand the mechanisms through which particular intervetions are expected to work and the local contextual conditions that are essential. The practical application of these approaches is also discussed.

 

MC-02: The role of CSOs in enabling democratization (Preeta Lall, SDC, Login)

The session provides a brief background on the enabling factors that allowed for CSOs to partner with local governments. it proceeds to discuss the range of activities that such partnerships have developed around and some successful strategies that have emerged. It analyzes the achievements from the perspective of whether and how these partnerships have enabled democratization at the grassroots. A final discussion dwells on the current challenges that place limits to the role of CSOs in enabling democratization. The video gives you the two main points when planning new CSO initiatives and answers the question “To whom are CSO accountable?”.

 

 

MC-03: Connecting citizens to the state: informal local governance institutions in the Western Balkans (Shandana Mohmand, IDS; Snezana Misic, MDP)

There is a growing awareness of the fact that informal institutions that lie wholly or partly outside formal state structures and that take on various governance-related functions have tremendous potential to strengthen citizen participation, encourage inclusive decision-making and promote improved service delivery at the local level. This session analyses the role of such informal institutions in the Western Balkans. The corresponding video points to the lessons learned from the workshop and talks about Mesni Zajednicas, a traditional form of sub- municipal, community-based self-government in the ex-Yugoslav states.

 

 

MC-04: Egypt, unfinished transition or unfinished revolution (Mariz Tadroz, IDS)

The master class discusses the paper by M. Tadroz: If external political analysis fails to capture the pulse of the street in Egypt today, we may end up in a situation much like that at the wake of the uprising of January 2011, where change happens through actors, spaces and mechanisms that we least expect. The paper’s findings are: a) In the post-Mubarak era, a liberal western procedural approach that equates ballot box activity with democracy is too simplistic; b) An engagement with a broader array of indicators would in fact suggest that ballot boxes and authoritarianism can thrive side by side; c) In order to avoid the kind of disconnects from citizen realities that characterized analysis during Mubarak’s era, it would be helpful to understand the spaces and forms through which unruly politics is thriving in Egypt today. The video gives a short overview what has been discussed during the class.

 

 

MC-05: Developing a tool to combine political economy and power analysis (Andres Mejia, Jethro Pettit, IDS)

The purpose of this session is to highlight the practical relevance of political economy and power analyses (PEPA) and to explain power relations and political dynamics in development initiatives. Both frameworks share the common objective of unpacking the visible, invisible and hidden relationships between key actors involved in producing meaningful development changes. The video elaborates on one quick example that has been discussed in class.

 

 

MC-07: Role of young political leaders in transition and reform processes (Joomart Saparbaev, Gordan Georgiev)

This class focuses on the role of young politicans as drivers of change in transition and reform processes. The two facilitators will reflect on questions of how a new generation of politicians can change power relations and push for transparency and reforms? how social media are used and influence information and opinions and push for changes in the societies that are rather traditional and rural. – Moreover, the class will discuss the power of lobby groups from the private sector and criminal or mafia related groups are influencing parliaments and administrations. In the video, J. Saparbaev stresses the importance of young political leaders.

 

 

MC-08: Media and political transition (Perihan Abu Seid, Egyptian media promotion)

The use of media, and in particular the social media, have played an important role in mobilizing the people and giving voice to groups who would otherwise not have had the possibility to influence the political arena. The video will tell you the single most important criteria when developing media products.

 

 

 

If day one – discussion on contexts and democratic movements – would be a plant, what plant would it be?
If I could draw, I would draw a whole rain forest.