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Mobilizing the State: The Erratic Partner in Brazil's Participatory Water Policy

Author

Listed:
  • Rebecca Neaera Abers

    (University of Brasília, Brazil, rebecca.abers@gmail.com)

  • Margaret E. Keck

    (Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, mkeck@jhu.edu)

Abstract

Studies of participatory governance generally examine the input (deliberation, participation) and/or output (accountability) side of policy processes. Often neglected is the throughput: Does the state have the political and technical capacity to implement the decisions that deliberative bodies make? In this study of Brazilian river-basin committees, the authors find that activists inside and outside the state often must collaborate to overcome resistance to change and provide state officials with resources they lack. They argue that this does not constitute the transfer of state responsibility to private actors but rather the mobilization of a state's capacity to defend the public interest.

Suggested Citation

  • Rebecca Neaera Abers & Margaret E. Keck, 2009. "Mobilizing the State: The Erratic Partner in Brazil's Participatory Water Policy," Politics & Society, , vol. 37(2), pages 289-314, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:polsoc:v:37:y:2009:i:2:p:289-314
    DOI: 10.1177/0032329209334003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    5. Johnsson, Rosa Maria Formiga & Kemper, Karin, 2005. "Institutional and policy analysis of river basin management : the Jaguaribe river basin, Ceara, Brazil," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3649, The World Bank.
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    7. Lemos, Maria Carmen & de Oliveira, Joao Lucio Farias, 2004. "Can Water Reform Survive Politics? Institutional Change and River Basin Management in Ceara, Northeast Brazil," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(12), pages 2121-2137, December.
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    Cited by:

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    3. Orihuela, José Carlos & Mendieta, Arturo & Pérez, Carlos & Ramírez, Tania, 2021. "From paper institutions to bureaucratic autonomy: Institutional change as a resource curse remedy," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).

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