Wall, Gareth James (2024). Exploring values and priorities for human development at the local level: a novel use of QMethodology to enhance deliberative democracy in a rural ward in Kerala, South India. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.
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WallG2024PhD.pdf
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Abstract
This doctoral research will argue, that despite recognition within both the analytical development and democracy literatures, individual and community values and priorities have been largely absent in widely adopted initiatives to measure human development at the local level. This, we argue, has in turn lead to an under-representation of local viewpoints in informing and driving state-led development initiatives, even when decentralised, which can result in undermining democratic legitimacy. Through examining the complimentary literature on human development and deliberative democracy we expose the lack of localised input into the measurement of desired change in formal local Human Development reports.
The rest of the thesis looks to fill this gap by explore how we may aggregate individual expressed priorities, around locally salient issues, though a novel use of QMethodology tools. We then discuss how such exercises can be informative for local public policy and public debate on values, centring the considered judgements and priorities of citizens of a local community. Through inviting all adults in ward three, Kottatara panchayat (village), in rural Wayand, north Kerala to undertake a ‘deliberation within’ partial ranking exercise, using a correlation and reduction factor analysis we identify fifteen shared viewpoints. These, along with 12 unique individual viewpoints, can represent the range of viewpoints across the community, and could, we argue, inform public debate and discourse along with coalition formation and consensus building around important issues of public policy and social values.
We conclude with a discussion of the implication of the findings, the strengths and weaknesses of the novel methodology and introduce the concept of ‘deliberation without’. We consider policy implications and propose the development of an opensource smartphone app to enable community groups and local administrations to undertake swift, inclusive, and easy exercises to inform their local development trajectories.
| Type of Work: | Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.) | |||||||||
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| Award Type: | Doctorates > Ph.D. | |||||||||
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| Licence: | All rights reserved | |||||||||
| College/Faculty: | Colleges (2008 onwards) > College of Social Sciences | |||||||||
| School or Department: | School of Government, International Development Department | |||||||||
| Funders: | Other | |||||||||
| Other Funders: | University of Birmingham, School of Government and Society alumni scholarship | |||||||||
| Subjects: | J Political Science > JQ Political institutions Asia J Political Science > JS Local government Municipal government |
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| URI: | http://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/15017 |
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