keren winterford a positive notion of power
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A positive notion of power for citizen voice
and state accountability
Dr Keren Winterford Fourth ACFID University Network Conference
Development Futures: Alternative Pathways to end Poverty 21 November 2013
Key messages from this presentation
Power is central to development discourse and practice
Need to question dominant notions of power
+ Power
Prioritise future view of power… relational dialogue and joint citizen-state action
Positive notion of power offers opportunity for expanding power and synergistic change
Why does the notion of power matter to development?
Causes of poverty
Experiences of poverty
Understandings of poverty and development have been evolving
Economic and technical
Lack of Participation
Poor governance and lack of state accountability
Lack of citizen engagement to influence state
accountability
People’s experience of poverty is one of powerlessness
Dimensions include lack of information,
lack of voice and unaccountable governments
…increased citizen participation with government increases state accountability and in turn improves
delivery of basic services for poverty reduction
Why does the notion of power matter to development?
Causes of poverty
Experiences of poverty
In line with thinking about
Dominant understandings
of power
What are dominant understandings of power in citizen-state relations?
‘Changing the balance of power’
‘Power is negative…power is bad’
‘Empowering citizens as a means of addressing state power and resulting poor state accountability’
Power over
Power toPower with
Power within
Dominant understandings of power in citizen-state relations
“Accepting and embracing conflict, the model and mindset are framed into a game which is predominantly zero-sum. Practical and realistic while
this often is, it sees the things one way round. The question is whether, it tends to obscure and undervalue opportunities which start with the
realities and contexts of the powerful “(Chambers 2006, p.103)
(VenKlasen & Miller 2002)
Stories from the field of citizen-state relations
Opportunities for transforming power from zero-sum to win-win
A positive notion of powerPower = inherent strengths of each individual
latent strengths are potential power to act
State Power = vested by citizens power“it is the people’s support that lends power to the
institutions of a country” (Arendt 1972)
Power = opportunity for mutual gain and win-win outcomes through the interaction of citizen power with
state power
Synergistic Power = power is “boundless” and the “interplay of powers with their checks and balances is
even liable to generate more power “(Arendt 1958)
Power = relational “requires both a loving drive to unit and a powerful drive
to realise this unity” (Kahane 2010)
Implications of a positive notion of power to our development futures
Complementary framing of citizen and state
power
state is made up of multiple parts at multiple levels which offers opportunity for citizens to engage and build synergistic power
Value inherent strengths
Implications of a positive notion of power to our development futures to emphasize revealing and
amplifying strengths
to facilitate relational dialogue
to encourage an iterative process
to repair and rebuild relationships
to create opportunities for citizen-state joint action and quick wins
In terms of citizen-state relations this is about enabling generative change outcomes - (1) Culture of dialogue (2) Improved relations
(3) Cultures of accountability (4) Transformed relations
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