McNulty Stephanie L. - Democracy From Above? : The Unfulfilled Promise of Nationally Mandated Participatory Reforms

Democracy from Above?

THE UNFULFILLED PROMISE OF NATIONALLY MANDATED PARTICIPATORY REFORMS

Stephanie L. McNulty

Stanford University Press

Stanford, California

Stanford University Press

Stanford, California

2019 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of Stanford University Press.

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free, archival-quality paper

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: McNulty, Stephanie L., author.

Title: Democracy from above? : the unfulfilled promise of nationally mandated participatory reforms / Stephanie L. McNulty.

Description: Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, 2019. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018040344 (print) | LCCN 2018042579 (ebook) | ISBN 9781503607989 (cloth ; alk. paper) | ISBN 9781503608948 (pbk. ; alk. paper) | ISBN 9781503608955 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Political participation. | Democracy. | Political ParticipationLatin AmericaCase studies. | DemocracyLatin AmericaCase studies.

Classification: LCC JF799 (ebook) | LCC JF799 .M35 2019 (print) | DDC 323/.042dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018040344

Cover design: Kevin Barrett Kane

Cover photograph: Shawn Ang

Typeset by Westchester Publishing Services in 10/14 Minion

For Maya and Sofia

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

THIS BOOK is the result of my long-standing interest in participatory governance in the developing world. It builds on my first book, Voice and Vote: Decentralization and Participation in Post-Fujimori Peru. After more than a year of fieldwork in six regions, I left Peru with many more questions about participatory governance than answers. I still yearned to know: what effects are these reforms having in the developing world? I realized that a cross-national, mixed-method research project would be the best way to start to answer this question.

Like any book, however, the final result represents the combined efforts of hundreds of people. Without their time, patience, and generosity, Democracy from Above? simply would not exist. I would like to recognize as many of them as I can in these pages. Of course, it is not possible to name them all here, especially since I promised many of them that I would not attribute their remarks. And it goes without stating that all errors are mine.

First, I am deeply grateful to my loving family. My daughters, Maya and Sofia Escudero, patiently supported my work on this book over several years, traveling with me around Latin America as I did fieldwork and giving me time and space to write up the findings. They are truly my inspiration. My loving husband, Ramn, also provided more support than I ever deserved. This book has truly been a team effort. My mother and her husband, Charlotte and Bill Kagey, provided endless assistance, and my sister, Claire Drewes, and her family have always been incredibly encouraging. Our Peruvian family also helped this study become a reality by helping me to think through ideas, to get settled in Peru, and by sending information my way. I am especially grateful to Daniel Escudero, Juan Antonio Escudero, Manuel Escudero, Rosa Maria Escudero, Mariela Morales, Alvaro Priale, Janice Rodriguez, Zoila Torres, and all of our extended family. Thank you also to ACEME, especially Maria Nelly Cuculiza, Constanza Evans, and Sidney Evans, for their insight and generosity about all things Peruvian. I am eternally grateful to my comadres, Maria Fernanda Jaramillo, Carrie McKellogg, Maria Beatriz Orlando, Rebeca Snchez de Tagle, and Alejandra Vallejo, for their encouragement and love. And without my sisters (you know who you are), I might never have finished. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

I would not have been able to concentrate on researching and writing these chapters without knowing that I was leaving our children in the loving care of several caregivers. I am eternally grateful to Ana Caldern, Socorro Gomez, Amelia Gutirrez, Leonor Huerta, Penny and Dwight Rager, and Zulema Reyes for taking care of our girls over the years. Knowing you has enrichened us in numerous and intangible ways.

Countless colleagues and friends have read drafts, edited different versions, listened to my ideas, provided feedback, helped me do fieldwork, and supported me when I thought this book might never move ahead. I am beyond grateful to all of them. Special thanks go to Cynthia McClintock, who has upheld her promise to be my mentor for life. Thank you also to Luis Beccar, Carew Boulding, Sarah Chartock, Dave Ciuk, Kent Eaton, Dick Fluke, Bob Friedrich, Benjamin Goldfrank, Bob Gray, Kathy Hertzler, Maiah Jaskoski, Jennifer Kibbe, Alison Kibler, Biko Koenig, Christian Kolar, Giovanna F. Lerner, Delphine Martin, Lindsay Mayka, Stephen Medvic, Tim McCarty, Libby Modern, Amy Moreno, Amy Mulnix, Maribel Perez, Lisa Peterson, Anita Pilkerton-Plumb, Amelia Rauser, Tom Reilly, Stephanie Rousseau, Amy Ruffo, Kristen Sample, Ryan Sauder, Matt Schousen, Andrew Selee, Laura Shelton, Scott Smith, Alissandra Stoyan, Michael Touchton, Tamara Walker, Brian Wampler, and Rosa Maria Wantland. Several colleagues helped me better understand some of the cases by providing invaluable feedback, including Susan Dicklitch-Nelson, Gabriel Hetland, Craig Kauffman, and Alex Nading. My biggest regret is that one of my biggest cheerleaders, Lee Ann Fujii, did not live to see the final product. Rest in power, my dear friend.

I am deeply indebted to many research assistants for helping me gather data on the seventeen cases explored in the book. Thanks to Monica Duran for researching Venezuela, Colombia, Chile, and Ecuador (including fieldwork in 2013); Lila Epstein for her work on Chile, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mozambique, Uganda, South Africa, and Rwanda; Argemira Flrez for her work on Mozambique, Rwanda (including fieldwork in 2012), Uganda, South Africa, and India; Katherine McKiernan for her database work and her research on Colombia, the Philippines, and Honduras; Juan Pablo (J. P.) Pitarque for his in-depth assistance on Ecuador, which included fieldwork, as well as research on the Dominican Republic; and Genevieve Spears for her help researching India and the Philippines. Arielle Chapnick and Angelica Silfa also gathered information for me in the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. Additional assistance was provided by Madeline Cavalier, Kabir Hossain, Abigail Lawlor, and Amy Largacha Cedeo in more recent years. In Guatemala and Bolivia, Ruben Dario Chambi, Stefano Hitzler, and Arecely Lazo provided vital research assistance. Finally, Rub Arana of the Latin American Public Opinion Project has always been generous with her time when I send her questions about data.

Generous funding from several organizations made possible the research for and the writing of this book. Thank you to the American Association of University Women, the American Political Science Association, and Franklin and Marshall College. I am also extremely grateful to my editors at Stanford University Press, Alan Harvey and Leah Pennywark, as well as the anonymous reviewers who gave me excellent advice. I am also indebted to the many people with whom I have presented at various panels and conferences over the years, as they gave me helpful feedback during various iterations of the project.

Finally, thank you to the hundreds of people who gave me their time during our interviews in Guatemala, Bolivia, and Peru. It is not possible to express how grateful I am for their insight and inspiration. Because of them, I am now able to imagine a better future for us all.