Civic Values and Democracy

• Dunn, A., & Gaventa, J. (2007). Building inclusive citizenship and democracies (id21 Focus). Brighton: IDS.

Exploring Democracy and Governance

• Freedom House. (2024). Freedom in the world 2024. Washington, DC: Freedom House.
• Freedom House. (2023). Freedom on the net 2023. Washington, DC: Freedom House.
• Gaventa, J. & Benequista, N. (2009). Reversing the flow: A new democratic conversation? Alliance, 14(2), 56-58. (103K pdf)
• IDEA. (2017). The global state of democracy indices.
• International IDEA. (2014). How democratic is your country? [Video file]. (10:45 min.)
• Rocha Menocal, A. (2017, November 15). Tackling inequality: Democracy’s Catch-22 [Blog post].
• Van Reybrouck, D. (2016, June 29). Why elections are bad for democracy.
• De Waal, A. (2017, April 25). Designer activism and post-democracy.

Power, Active Citizenship and the Social Contract

• Civicus. (2024). State of civil society report 2024. New York, NY: Civicus.
• Civicus Monitor, tracks civic space worldwide.
• Koester, D. (2015). Gender & power (Concept brief no. 04). Birmingham, UK: University of Birmingham.
• Miller, V., et al. (2006). Making change happen: Power: concepts for revisioning power for justice, equality and peace. [n.l.]: Just Associates.
• Transnational Institute. (2016, December 6). Rethinking shrinking space [Video file]. (7:32 min.)
• UNDP. (2016). Engaged societies, responsive states: The social contract in situations of conflict and fragility (Concept note). New York, NY: UNDP.

Transforming Social Contracts: Participatory Governance And Accountability

• Benequista, N. & Gaventa, J. (2011). Blurring the boundaries: Citizen action across states and societies. Brighton: IDS.
• Fox, Michael. (2009, February, 1). Beyond elections documentary part II (Participatory budgeting I) [Video file]. (8:38 min.)
• Fox, Michael. (2009, February 2). Beyond elections documentary part 16 (Democratizing democracy II) [Video file]. (9:59 min.)
• The Hunger Project. (2014). 2014 State of participatory democracy report. New York: The Hunger Project. (6.86 Mb pdf)
• International Observatory on Participatory Democracy members.
• McLoughlin, C. (2014). State legitimacy. (DLP Concept brief no. 02). Birmingham, UK: University of Birmingham.
• Open Society Foundations. (2015, September 30). UN Sustainable Development Goals: The power of participatory democracy [Video file]. (4:43 min.)

Towards Accountable Democracies: Analyzing Power and Exploring Pathways

• Civicus. (n.d.). Participatory governance toolkit. Resources relating to nine categories of participatory governance practices.
• Participedia, strengthening democracy through shared knowledge.
• Smith, G. (2005). Power: Beyond the ballot: democratic innovations from around the world. London: The POWER Inquiry. (739K pdf)

Showcasing Democratic Innovations And Making Accountability Inclusive

• Mann, L., & Meagher, K. (2016, November 3). The needs of informal workers matter in digital innovation [Blog post].
• Shahrokh, T., & Lopez-Franco, E. (2015). Achieving meaningful accountability for people living in poverty and marginalisation (Policy briefing no. 2). Brighton: IDS.

Practicing A Community Scorecard: Practicum At Ecole Acadienne De Pomquet

• Participatory Budgeting Project resources.
  • PBP. (2016). Real money, real power: Participatory budgeting [Video file]. (4:13 min.)

Field Trip: Perspectives On Participatory Budgeting

• Austin, S. (2018, October 30). Participatory budget district 5 2018 [Blog post].
• Flynn, A. (2016). Participatory budgeting – Not a one-size-fits-all approach. Free and open access from Osgoode Digital Commons. (605K pdf)
• Halifax Regional Municipality
• MacPhee Centre for Creative Learning empowers youth between the ages of 12-19 by connecting passion with purpose through the arts.
• North Woodside Community Centre aids in focusing the energy and skills of citizens in building a stronger community in which to live, work and play.
• Nova Scotia Legislature is the legislative branch of the Government of Nova Scotia.

Practicing Persuasion And Deepening Discussions

• Global Partnership for Social Accountability, established by the World Bank in 2012, enhances citizens’ voice and supports the capacity of governments to respond effectively to their voice.

Resources

• Accountability guide, published by Humentum, focuses on strengthening the financial management and accountability of NGOs around the world.
• Blair, H. (2011). Gaining state support for social accountability. In S. Odugbemi & T. Lee (Eds.), Accountability through public opinion: From inertia to public action (pp. 37-52). Washington, DC: World Bank.
• Civicus. (2013). The Enabling Environment Index 2013: A Civicus initiative. Washington, DC: Civicus. Report available for download.
• Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability (Citizenship DRC) was a research consortium that investigated how citizens hold institutions to account and claim their rights.
• Edwards, J. (2014, July 24). Women in politics: Beyond numbers [Blog post].
• Everyday Democracy, ideas and tools for community change.
• Fung, A. (2006). Varieties of participation in complex governance. Public Administration Review, 66(S1), 66-75. (StFX only)
• Fung, A. (2015). Putting the public back into governance: The challenges of citizen participation and its future. Public Administration Review, 75(4), 513-522. (191K pdf) (StFX only)
• Gaventa, J. (2006). Triumph, deficit or contestation? Deepening the ‘deepening democracy’ debate (Working paper no. 264). Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies. (266K pdf)
• Gaventa, J. & Benequista, N. (2009, August 5). Democracy-support: From recession to innovation.
• Guénéheux, D., & Bottomley, A. (2014). Accountability for civil society by civil society: A guide to self-regulation initiatives. London: Civicus.
• Mintzberg, H. (2014). Rebalancing society: Radical renewal beyond left, right, and center. (676K pdf)
• Olsen DeVries, K. (2017). Unpacking the concept of civic space. Drum Beat 738.
• Participatory Budgeting Project supports processes that deepen democracy, build stronger communities, and make public budgets more equitable and effective.
• Samuel, J. (2007). Public advocacy and people-centred advocacy: Mobilising for social change. Development in Practice, 17(4/5), 615-621. (StFX only)
• Seraj, S. (2016, April 10). Farmers’ voices in budget (Season 11 EPS 2) [Video file]. (25:22 min.)
• Skidmore, P. & Bound, K. (2008). The everyday democracy index. London: Demos. (1.10 Mb pdf)
• Smith, G., Hughes, T., Adams, L., & Obijiaku, C. (Eds.). (2021). Democracy in a pandemic: Participation in response to crisis [eBook edition]. University of Westminster Press.
• Speer, J. (2012). Participatory governance reform: A good strategy for increasing government responsiveness and improving public services? World Development, 40(12), 2379-2398. (StFX only)
• Three minute citizen, Springtide has created ten videos explaining democracy in Canada.