Jonathan A. Fox
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199208852
- eISBN:
- 9780191709005
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199208852.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
How can the seeds of accountability ever grow in authoritarian environments? Embedding accountability into the state is an inherently uneven, partial, and contested process. Campaigns for public ...
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How can the seeds of accountability ever grow in authoritarian environments? Embedding accountability into the state is an inherently uneven, partial, and contested process. Campaigns for public accountability often win limited concessions at best, but they can leave cracks in the system that serve as handholds for subsequent efforts to open up the state to public scrutiny. This book explores how civil society ‘thickens’ by comparing two decades of rural citizens' struggles to hold the Mexican state accountable, exploring both change and continuity before, during, and after national electoral turning points. The book addresses how much power-sharing really happens in policy innovations that include participatory social and environmental councils, citizen oversight of elections and the secret ballot, decentralized social investment funds, participation reforms in World Bank projects, community-managed food programs, as well as new social oversight and public information access reforms. Meanwhile, efforts to exercise voice unfold at the same time as rural citizens consider their exit options, as millions migrate to the US, where many have since come together in a new migrant civil society. This book concludes that new analytical frameworks are needed to understand ‘transitions to accountability’. This involves unpacking the interaction between participation, transparency, and accountability.Less
How can the seeds of accountability ever grow in authoritarian environments? Embedding accountability into the state is an inherently uneven, partial, and contested process. Campaigns for public accountability often win limited concessions at best, but they can leave cracks in the system that serve as handholds for subsequent efforts to open up the state to public scrutiny. This book explores how civil society ‘thickens’ by comparing two decades of rural citizens' struggles to hold the Mexican state accountable, exploring both change and continuity before, during, and after national electoral turning points. The book addresses how much power-sharing really happens in policy innovations that include participatory social and environmental councils, citizen oversight of elections and the secret ballot, decentralized social investment funds, participation reforms in World Bank projects, community-managed food programs, as well as new social oversight and public information access reforms. Meanwhile, efforts to exercise voice unfold at the same time as rural citizens consider their exit options, as millions migrate to the US, where many have since come together in a new migrant civil society. This book concludes that new analytical frameworks are needed to understand ‘transitions to accountability’. This involves unpacking the interaction between participation, transparency, and accountability.
Jonathan Fox
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813033327
- eISBN:
- 9780813038391
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813033327.003.0016
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
This chapter discusses the migrant civil society of Mexico and attempts to contribute to a rethinking of the relationship between rural out-migration and collective action. It is determined that ...
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This chapter discusses the migrant civil society of Mexico and attempts to contribute to a rethinking of the relationship between rural out-migration and collective action. It is determined that migration to the cities in Mexico and to the United States has long been a pathway to escape the landlessness and the weakening of smallholder agriculture. It concludes that the Mexican migrant civil society in the United States is just beginning to emerge, although the future of rural Mexico has yet to be imagined jointly.Less
This chapter discusses the migrant civil society of Mexico and attempts to contribute to a rethinking of the relationship between rural out-migration and collective action. It is determined that migration to the cities in Mexico and to the United States has long been a pathway to escape the landlessness and the weakening of smallholder agriculture. It concludes that the Mexican migrant civil society in the United States is just beginning to emerge, although the future of rural Mexico has yet to be imagined jointly.
Jonathan Fox and Xóchitl Bada
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520267541
- eISBN:
- 9780520948914
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520267541.003.0007
- Subject:
- Sociology, Migration Studies (including Refugee Studies)
The spring 2006 wave of immigrant rights mass mobilizations represents a watershed in the history of civic engagement in the United States. Practitioners involved in the policy debate, scholars who ...
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The spring 2006 wave of immigrant rights mass mobilizations represents a watershed in the history of civic engagement in the United States. Practitioners involved in the policy debate, scholars who measure immigrant political opinion, and migrant leaders themselves were all caught off guard. This raises questions about the social foundations of the marches—what kinds of social and civic practices, networks and organizations made them possible? To provide at least part of the answer, this chapter introduces the concepts of civic binationality and migrant civil society, which provide frameworks for understanding the already existing patterns of migrant organization that came together at this unusual historical turning point. The point of departure here is that, at least for many adult migrants, their initiation into civic life either takes place in their country of origin or is oriented toward their country of origin. The 2006 protests constitute a powerful indicator that millions of immigrants have been fully transplanted into the U.S. public sphere, followed by subsequent increases in naturalization and voter turnout among “new Americans” in 2008.Less
The spring 2006 wave of immigrant rights mass mobilizations represents a watershed in the history of civic engagement in the United States. Practitioners involved in the policy debate, scholars who measure immigrant political opinion, and migrant leaders themselves were all caught off guard. This raises questions about the social foundations of the marches—what kinds of social and civic practices, networks and organizations made them possible? To provide at least part of the answer, this chapter introduces the concepts of civic binationality and migrant civil society, which provide frameworks for understanding the already existing patterns of migrant organization that came together at this unusual historical turning point. The point of departure here is that, at least for many adult migrants, their initiation into civic life either takes place in their country of origin or is oriented toward their country of origin. The 2006 protests constitute a powerful indicator that millions of immigrants have been fully transplanted into the U.S. public sphere, followed by subsequent increases in naturalization and voter turnout among “new Americans” in 2008.
Michael S. Danielson
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- December 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190679972
- eISBN:
- 9780190680008
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190679972.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics, Democratization
The first empirical task is to identify the characteristics of municipalities which US-based migrants have come together to support financially. Using a nationwide, municipal-level data set compiled ...
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The first empirical task is to identify the characteristics of municipalities which US-based migrants have come together to support financially. Using a nationwide, municipal-level data set compiled by the author, the chapter estimates several multivariate statistical models to compare municipalities that did not benefit from the 3x1 Program for Migrants with those that did, and seeks to explain variation in the number and value of 3x1 projects. The analysis shows that migrants are more likely to contribute where migrant civil society has become more deeply institutionalized at the state level and in places with longer histories as migrant-sending places. Furthermore, the results suggest that political factors are at play, as projects have disproportionately benefited states and municipalities where the PAN had a stronger presence, with fewer occurring elsewhere.Less
The first empirical task is to identify the characteristics of municipalities which US-based migrants have come together to support financially. Using a nationwide, municipal-level data set compiled by the author, the chapter estimates several multivariate statistical models to compare municipalities that did not benefit from the 3x1 Program for Migrants with those that did, and seeks to explain variation in the number and value of 3x1 projects. The analysis shows that migrants are more likely to contribute where migrant civil society has become more deeply institutionalized at the state level and in places with longer histories as migrant-sending places. Furthermore, the results suggest that political factors are at play, as projects have disproportionately benefited states and municipalities where the PAN had a stronger presence, with fewer occurring elsewhere.
