Voice and Vote

by McNulty, Stephanie L.

• ISBN13: 9780804773980
• ISBN10: 080477398X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-05-04
• Publisher: Stanford Univ Pr

Summary

In late 2000, Peru faced a crisis. Many argued that the future of democracy in Peru rested on its ability to decentralize and incorporate new actors into decision-making processes. Toward that end, the country's political elite devolved power to subnational governments and designed new institutions to encourage broader participation in decision-making. By 2002, Peru's participatory decentralization reform (PDR) had been finalized and the experiment began. This book explores the possibilities and limitations of the decision to restructure political systems in a way that promotes participation. The analysis also demonstrates the power that political, historical, and institutional factors can have in designing participatory institutions and affecting their eventual outcomes. Using original data from six regions of Peru, the book documents variation in PDR implementation, explores the factors that explain this variation, and points to regional factors as prime determinants in the success or failure of participatory institutions.

Author Biography

Stephanie L. McNulty is Assistant Professor of Government at Franklin and Marshall College.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introducing Peru's Decentralization Effort
Peru's Fragile Democracy	p. 3
Peru's 2002 Participatory Decentralization Reform	p. 27
Analyzing the Reform
Explaining the Decision to Empower New Actors	p. 51
The Role of Political Interests in Constraining PDR Outcomes	p. 63
Regional Experiences
Six Experiences with the Participatory Institutions	p. 83
Factors That Facilitate Successful Participatory Institutions	p. 124
Conclusions
Concluding Notes and Looking Ahead	p. 147
Notes	p. 163
Works Cited	p. 183
Index	p. 207
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