Citizen Engagement


ISE’s support for citizen-centered governance is deeply informed by robust engagement with citizens themselves. Civil society organizations, social movements, and activist groups constitute the crucial mechanisms of how citizens demand greater inclusion, accountability, and change from their state. In turn, citizens have a set of responsibilities to the state and to each other. ISE’s work focuses on how states and citizens better harness inclusive politics, particularly involving women and youth, to build governance agendas that benefit all citizens.

Haiti: Escaping the Crisis Trap

Four years after a devastating earthquake, the reconstruction of Haiti remains far from completion. Although billions of dollars in aid have flowed into the country, Haitians feel the outcomes have not matched the promises made.…

View Complete Publication

Governance

For the last two decades there has been consensus on the centrality of governance to countries’ ability to provide security, prosperity and well-being for their citizens. The promotion of good governance, however, particularly in developing…

View Complete Publication

Citizenship

Citizens as National and Global Stakeholders Conceptions of citizenship have evolved beyond the boundaries of the nation state to encompass relationships across multiple organizations and global actors. In the process traditional rules and rights have…

View Complete Publication

State Function: Citizen Engagement
Insight & Analysis: Citizen Engagement
Topic: Customary Law and Governance
Bihar: Transformation from a Dysfunctional to a Redistributive State

Confronted by set of deeply entrenched obstacles, the government of Bihar adopted a carefully structured approach to state-building. In this paper we assess the measures it took to consolidate the rule of law, build key…

View Complete Publication

The Case of Finnish Transformation: Balancing Growth with Equity

One of the most interesting characteristics of Finland’s long-term ascent of many of the world economic and governance indicators has been how, instead of focusing on problems, it tended to adopt a pragmatic, solution-based approach.…

View Complete Publication

Karnataka: Understanding State Level Transition in India

We explain why Karnataka is an instructive case study, containing both positive and negative lessons. In the last decade income growth has been spectacular; self-interested policy making have led it to be branded India’s most…

View Complete Publication