Abstract

HEVIA, Felipe J. Institutionalized Citizen Participation and Civic Organizations in Brazil: Horizontal and Vertical Relationships in Social Assistance Policy. rev.estud.soc. [online]. 2011, n.39, pp.95-108. ISSN 0123-885X.

This article examines the impact of participatory institutional arrangements between different social and civil organizations in Brazil. Taking the field of social assistance as a case study, the article argues that various institutionalized mechanisms for citizen participation, such as conferences and management councils, promote the development of a "vertical" sectorial network, through which public policies can be controlled from the federal to the local level, and a "horizontal" territorial network, in which various sectorial issues are activated within the same territory. This dual articulation promotes greater associative density: the territorial networks have better knowledge of the specific policies implemented in their cities; and the sectorial networks, besides participating in all stages of policy implementation, can understand their impact at the national and local level.

Keywords : Social Participation; Civil Society; Nongovernmental Organizations; Deliberative Democracy; Social Welfare.

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