Citizen Participation

Historical Roots of the Concept

Within the international development discourse and practice, the concept of participation has undergone changes since its initial articulation more than six decades ago. It is thus useful to undertake a brief overview of the historical roots of the concept of citizen participation before attempting to unpack its different dimensions.

After the Second World War, a number of developing countries, like India, witnessed the dominance of the growth school of development, which emphasized industrialization and economic development and endorsed gross national product as a significant indicator of development. Development programmes were designed and managed by the government and agency staff, with the underlying assumption of professionals being the experts and the marginalized and oppressed citizens, the passive recipients of development aid.

The late 1960s and 1970s witnessed growing pressure by a section of social scientists, grass-roots groups and non-governmental organizations to bring the marginalized citizens and the community into the centre of development initiatives. In the year 1968, the Brazilian educator Paulo Freire's book Pedagogy of the Oppressed was published in Portuguese, with the English version published in 1970. This seminal document introduced Freire's dialogic approach to adult education, wherein the oppressed engaged in critical analysis and organized action to improve their situation. The concepts of conscientization and praxis introduced by Freire's work in the area of pedagogy of literacy were powerful ideas for empowerment of the oppressed.

It was also during the 1970s that the work of educators and practitioners like Budd Hall and Rajesh Tandon positioned the concept of participatory research as a powerful idea against the monopoly of knowledge being propagated by mainstream knowledge institutions. The facilitators of participatory research strengthened the belief that the popular knowledge and collective action of marginalized citizens were important vehicles for empowerment of the poor and marginalized.

Orlando Fals Borda's work with grass-roots groups in Columbia, with a focus on legitimizing popular knowledge, also led to the emergence of Participatory Action Research. The issue of citizens' and community rights was further highlighted by a number of social movements in the 1970s which made strong claims for livelihood, social justice and women's rights for the poor and marginalized. This significant development led to the recognition of the political function of citizen participation.

The decade-long search for alternative models of development wherein the recipients of development become drivers of the process was central to a number of important events and conferences in the international development scenario. The focus on community participation in the agriculture, health and education programmes of the government began gaining strength. In the developing countries, participatory methodologies like Participatory Rural Appraisal and participatory monitoring gained significance in the 1980s, assisting the incorporation of community and citizen participation in the development project cycles of the government and non-governmental organizations.

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