The Missing Link: The Challenge of Institutionalizing Participation in Urban Bolivia

• In Event: 594 - Section on Political Sociology Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 18. Practices of Mobilization

Abstract

The literature on participatory democracy focuses more on the issue of "participation" (meaning the ways in which citizens provides input into political decision-making) rather than "institutionalization" (meaning the ways in which state institutions and bureaucrats process and implement popular demands). This article demonstrates that to understand participatory processes requires examining the link between participation and institutionalization. The article explores two cases in Bolivia where this link is missing. El Alto is a case of participation without institutionalization, which has led to a push for greater institutionalization. Santa Cruz is a case of institutionalization without participation, which has led to a push for greater participation.

Author

• Gabriel Bodin Hetland, University of California-Berkeley