Village Assemblies Research Articles

Alternative Dispute Resolution: Historical, Customary Practices & Legal Aspects of Nepal

This paper focuses on the use of ADR in Nepal based on analyzing the historical background, cultural practices, and existing laws. The research's main objective was to identify how the ADR is practiced in the communities and in the judicial system of Nepal. The basic approach of research was doctrinal and in this approach primary sources regarded the constitution of Nepal and Acts likewise secondary source was taken as published articles and reports. It starts with background information on what peaceful conflict resolution is and how disputes are settled by mediators such as the elders and village assemblies conducted in communities. These are cultural methods of solving conflicts and they have been in use before the legal structures were formulated in Nepal. The paper also discusses the different forms of traditional ADR that have been incorporated into the contemporary Legal System of Nepal. It also surveys prominent statutes such as the Arbitration Act and the Mediation Act and how these laws assimilate and police traditional practices into and within the legal process. More specifically, the study compares the various conventional techniques, viewpoints, and designs used to address the issues of compliance with customary practices and measures the extent of the effectiveness. The paper nonetheless seeks to contrast between the traditional approaches and the legal frameworks to illustrate the need to embrace cultural practices alongside access to justice. The research found that the use of ADR is in different sectors of the communities and organizations, including international trade disputes and the law of Nepal has opened to settle disputes outside of the court system

Accountabillity and Transparency of Village Fund Management in Gunungputri Village, Gunungputri District, Bogor Regency

The aim of this study was to determine the degree of accountability and transparency in the management of village money in Gunung Putri Village. This study utilises a descriptive qualitative methodology. The research aims to analyse the governmental structure of Gunung Putri Village as the main unit of investigation. The data collection methods utilised included observation, interview, and documentation. The data employed in this study consist of primary data acquired directly from the village government through observations and interviews, as well as secondary data collected from literature and necessary documents. The study's findings indicate that Gunungputri Village exhibits accountability in managing village money by adhering to Permendagri Number 20 of 2018. However, the accountability report for the execution of operations has been delayed due to impediments in implementation, causing the head and subordinate head to submit the accountability report to the village head late. Gunungputri Village has exhibited transparency through the active engagement of its residents in village assemblies and the utilisation of many communication mediums such as notice boards, billboards, village websites, and social media platforms. These platforms are used to distribute information on village finances and other community activities.

Range of Alternative Estimates of Intra-Village Income Inequality According to Western Siberian Data Tax Layouts of the Early 20th Century

The article presents the results of the first attempt in domestic and foreign historiography to measure inequality among peasants on the eve of the Great Russian Revolution using indirect data on income from distribution sentences. At the beginning of the 20th century they were known as resolutions of village assemblies and they established the basis for the distribution of the total amount of taxes of a given village among peasants and fixed amount of payment of each individual peasant, taking into account his solvency. From a total of five thousand distribution sentences, sentences from three neighboring villages from the Tomsk district for three years from 1902 to 1908 were selected for microanalysis. The peculiarity of the distribution sentences is that they only approximately reflect the level of income of the peasant. In this regard, the authors proposed various ways to clarify the data of distributed sentences (recalculation of family data into personal data and exclusion from the calculation of the amount broken down without taking into account property criteria). The resulting figures for the Gini coefficient, which measures inequality, are compared with figures for other countries known from historiography. The authors conclude that the data support the average estimates of pre-revolutionary inequality, as opposed to the lowest and highest existing estimates, and this does not exclude the significant tension introduced into the lives of peasants by income inequality within each individual village.

Socio-Cultural Factors Influencing Community Participation in the Joint Forest Management: A Case of Uzungwa Scarp Nature Forest Reserve, Tanzania

This study emphasizes the critical role of participatory approaches, particularly joint forest management (JFM), in addressing the escalating threat to forests posed by human activities. Focusing on the socio-cultural aspects, the research explores the factors influencing community participation in joint forest management within Tanzania's Uzungwa Scarp Nature Forest Reserve (USNFR), employing the Socio-Ecological System theory to underscore the potential of community-driven resource management. The study employed a cross-sectional research design, collecting data through questionnaires, focus group discussions, and interviews involving 190 respondents from five villages spanning Kilolo, Mufindi, and Mlimba Districts. Quantitative data underwent descriptive statistical analysis, while qualitative data were subjected to thematic analysis. The majority of the respondents were relatively young, likely due to their physical fitness and heightened environmental commitment. Conversely, older individuals were underrepresented, likely due to age-related limitations. Gender imbalances were observed, reflecting deeply ingrained gender-related barriers in societal norms. Education levels varied, with a significant portion having completed primary education, while higher levels of education were less represented. The respondents were predominantly married, indicating a probable tie to family responsibilities. Farming was the main occupation for the majority, highlighting their dependence on forest resources. Effective communication emerged as pivotal during village assemblies and workshops, fostering awareness and empowerment for successful joint forest management. Cultural factors significantly influenced community participation in JFM within the USNFR. Ritual activities, local knowledge, and power dynamics played key roles, creating taboos and restrictions that reinforced cultural ties to conservation, leveraging the influence of community elders. To enhance community involvement, the current influential factors should be preserved and enforced. Also, to ensure tailored conservation training programs, context-specific communication tools, promotion of cultural integration, and ensuring inclusivity in all JFM aspects. Future research should focus on assessing the impact of training programs on forest conservation

THE FOREST DWELLING TRIBES AND COMMUNITY FOREST RESOURCES (CFR) CONTRADICT FOREST GOVERNANCE

India is a vast country with all geographical definitions contained within it. The Country is adorned with mountains, deserts, estuaries, deltas and forests. India is the biggest peninsula in the world. It also houses rich deposition of minerals, ores and fossil fuels. The Indian Forest Resources (IFR) with all its treasure attracted the then rulers British, who realized the immanence economic potentiality contained within it, the possible outcome which could derive out of it. The aboriginals, the tribes, with forest as their own abode developed ageold rights over it generation wise. When the British Government realized that the tribes were a step ahead in the knowledge of forest, they quickly formed a rule regarding the forest to establish their absolute supremacy, ultimately which became the Indian Forest Act (IFA) 1865 as amended in 1878 and 1927 respectively. The innocent, illiterate, poor tribes were uprooted and dislodged from the forest; they were pushed into jeopardy, without any known method of sustaining livelihood was in utter dismay. After Independence there were Forest Policies and Five Year Plans each of which had specific space for the forest and tribes, but rehabilitation remained far away from them. More over Forest Rights Act 2006 also has generated a puzzled situation for these men. Thus, it is clearly visualized the present plight of the forest dwelling tribes continue to be unsecured due to advent of the Indian Forest Act 1865. Recently the Government of India (GOI), Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) issued a guidelines on forest conservation, management and sustainable use of community forest resources (CFR) on September 12, 2023, disempowered Gram Sabhas (Village Assemblies) and shift controlled to the governance. They decided without any understanding of CFR's progress the country will undo any kind of progress which is forest based may impossible, hampered forest governance, depicts contradiction in between forest act/s, polices, five year plans and forest governance

Contemporary Summer Village Assemblies in Central Serbia and (Generational) Performative Practices of Older and Newer Rural Vocal Layers

For the present day middle-aged and older village singers in the Šumadija region in central Serbia rural singing festivals are quite popular events: these are occasions for local communities to share their enthusiasm and to communicate through songs, sharing the elements of tradition they all consider theirs, inventing new lyrics to well-known traditional melodies (’standards’), socializing, and confirming their friendships based on pure satisfaction in common singing. On such occasions there appears an opposition in relation to Serbian old and new traditional vocal rural layers (see more for ex. Petrović and Jovanović, 2003, Golemović, 2016). Namely, for village middle-aged and older singers, the main common means of expression are recent or newer rural singing with structural elements closer to the European ones. Old-time rural singing, with its second chords in two-part texture, non-tempered scales, more hermetic in character, shows differences between regional local traditions, and hence has not been regarded as a common way of musical communication for village singers. On the other hand, younger neotraditional singers, in professional or amateur ensembles mostly from towns and mostly conducted by ethnomusicologists, have been devotees of old-time singing as a strong endemic musical device, rich in musical, ethical, and expressive sense. At the festivals they sing such songs to awaken and demonstrate their value in the settings where they are already lost from living practice. This paper is based on the principles of applied ethnomusicology, on long-term fieldwork and on scholarly researches in Šumadija, as well as on personal performing and teaching experiences.

The extent to which the domestic conditions of cocoa farmers in Bougainville impede livelihoods

BackgroundBougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea (PNG) is slowly improving services and infrastructure destroyed 20 years ago during the ten year civil war. However, the region still faces significant constraints to economic growth and human development and remains under-developed compared to PNG and close Pacific neighbours. PNG's 2017 Human Development Category (HDC) was one of the lowest at 0.544. The Bougainville Strategic Development Plan 2018–2022 noted significant gaps in health services and infrastructure, had inadequate water and waste disposal and experienced weak markets and cocoa quality. This research examines domestic conditions and the extent to which they impact on livelihoods. MethodA cross-sectional livelihood survey was administered to cocoa growing households in 33 Village Assemblies (VAs) with 11 VAs in each of the three regions. ResultsData was collected from 5172 individuals. A significant majority of households reported multiple health issues, rudimentary housing, unimproved sanitation and unimproved water. Over two-thirds of cocoa growers did not sell any cocoa bags in 2014–2016 resulting in low incomes and greater food insecurity compared to families selling cocoa. Families that produced no saleable cocoa were more likely to have rudimentary housing, unimproved toilet facilities and unsafe water, factors that increase the likelihood of chronic disease and exacerbate malnutrition and poor labour productivity. ConclusionThis study provides key information about the health and livelihood status of cocoa growers in Bougainville. If productivity is to increase, farmer health needs to improve including improving water and sanitation practices and diets. Building a responsive health system for the community is a challenge when a majority of the population live in small villages with difficult access to health centres. Establishing and integrating outreach village health clinics will enable health care to be more accessible to these remote communities.

Does Tanzanian participatory forest management policy achieve its governance objectives?

Before the 1980s, centralized forest policies in many African countries excluded local communities, while forest resources were frequently degraded. In response, Participatory Forest Management (PFM) was introduced to devolve management and improve livelihoods, forest condition and governance. Building on existing analyses that highlight the limited successes of PFM, this study focuses on the equitability and efficacy of PFM governance in Tanzania. Previous work notes several shortcomings of PFM, often stressing the issue of elite capture - our paper explores this issue in further detail by applying a mixed methods approach. Specifically, by using individual rather than household level surveys we can better assess the extent of marginalization and whether wealth and gender are determining factors. We assess whether PFM has achieved devolution by comparing observed outcomes to stated policy objectives and the decentralization framework developed by Agrawal and Ribot (1999). We surveyed 227 individuals, in two case study villages adjacent to SULEDO Village Land Forest Reserve (Kiteto District), conducted six focus group discussions and 10 key informant interviews to answer these research questions: (a) To what extent are management institutions representative and inclusive of the local community? (b) To what extent are local communities empowered to influence decision-making and access benefits? (c) To what extent is the local forest management institution accountable to local communities relative to superior authorities under PFM? In the case study villages, PFM is characterised by a low rate of resident and Village Environmental Committee member engagement in committee elections, formal village assemblies, PFM training, formulation and first-approval of by-laws. Low levels of satisfaction were also found with the mechanisms of benefit sharing and the level of accountability of management institution leaders. We found that SULEDO has become dominated by a very restricted “elite within an elite”, comprising only zonal leaders and close associates. Overall, we found a significant gap between observed outcomes and PFM policy objectives, and therefore a failure to fully achieve meaningful devolution.

Deliberative Democracy in an Unequal World: AText-As-DataStudy of South India’s Village Assemblies

This paper opens the “black box” of real-world deliberation by usingtext-as-datamethods on a corpus of transcripts from the constitutionally mandatedgram sabhas, or village assemblies, of rural India. Drawing on normative theories of deliberation, we identify empirical standards for “good” deliberation based on one’s ability both to speak and to be heard, and use natural language processing methods to generate these measures. We first show that, even in the rural Indian context, these assemblies are not mere “talking shops,” but rather provide opportunities for citizens to challenge their elected officials, demand transparency, and provide information about local development needs. Second, we find that women are at a disadvantage relative to men; they are less likely to speak, set the agenda, and receive a relevant response from state officials. And finally, we show that quotas for women for village presidencies improve the likelihood that female citizens are heard.

Mujeres en la cocina de la mayordomía. Prestigio y costumbre en la mixteca de Oaxaca

In this article I explain how women are re-elaborating certain practices and social spaces tied to notions of “la costumbre” —custom—, as a way to gain access to communitarian prestige and recognition in light of changes to social, ritual and political organization in a municipality from the Oaxacan Mixtec region. Taking into account an old feminist anthropology concern about the gender system as a prestige system, I question the rigidity of the power and prestige structure conferred upon gender relationships within cargo systems and I show the relevance of what are considered to be “domestic” activities in the construction of intimate communitarian spaces that women have created via the reproduction of a relevant rituality in the construction of contemporary communities. I observed how women use the concept of “la costumbre” to claim a type of symbolic capital that helped them prepare for and participate in other communitarian decision-making spaces, such as village assemblies.

Users� Perspectives on Community Engagement in Local Health Governance Structures in Itilima and Bariadi District Councils in Simiyu Region, Tanzania

The aim of this study is to investigate Users’ perspectives on community engagement in the health governance structures at the sub-district levels in two rural districts in Tanzania. The specific objectives of the study are: i) to examine health service Users’ awareness about the existence of local health governance structures, ii) to examine the level of community engagement and functionality of the structures, and iii) to identify the contextual factors affecting the functionality of local health governance structures. The study draws on empirical data collected from 281 service users, health service boards and committees’ members and key informants through questionnaire survey, focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews. The study found limited health service Users’ awareness about the existence of health governance structures partly because some health facilities lacked the boards and committees and in some cases community members were not involved in the selection of community representatives through their village assemblies. Further, most of the community health governance structures were not functional as had infrequent meetings and varied composition contrary to the guidelines for their establishment. Consequently, community engagement in these structures was very limited. The factors affecting functionality of these structures included lack of clarity among stakeholders on the procedures for establishing the structures, limited capacity of community members on their roles and responsibilities in the structures and delays in establishing and replacing expired service boards and committees. It is concluded that, the purpose of improving healthcare service delivery through improved community participation and governance in the local health governance structures is still far from being realised. Thus, the district councils should strengthen the functionality of the health governance structures by creating awareness among stakeholders at the ward, village and health facility levels about the guidelines for establishing and functioning of the health governance structures.

How Women Talk in Indian Democracy

In democracies, political institutions based on deliberation offer citizens scope for talk-based participation in development and governance. A prominent example is the Indian gram sabha, or village assembly. We undertake a talk-centered analysis of women’s participation in village assemblies and examine if associational membership, in the form of self-help group (SHG) membership, makes a difference in how women frame their concerns and demands addressed to the state. Analyzing 255 village assembly transcripts from four South Indian states, we find that women’s participation varies vastly between states, and SHG membership matters for narrative style. In Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, women associated with SHGs employed a wider variety of narrative styles and utilized a more complex structure to convey their problems and demands compared to non-member women. Drawing on this analysis, we argue that SHGs contribute to deepening democracy by improving the quality of women’s participation in deliberative political institutions. We discuss the mechanisms through which this influence might come to bear. This study contributes to understanding the link between associational life and democracy and the political sociology of democracy.

Why the poor do not benefit from community-driven development: Lessons from participatory budgeting

Abstract Community-driven development (CDD) has been identified as a potent vehicle for poverty reduction. Over 105 countries have adopted CDD projects in the hope that citizen empowerment translates to socio-economic development. But existing evidence is mixed, with some scholars arguing that CDD does not benefit the poor. This paper seeks to contribute to this literature by identifying any differentiated impact to the poor attributable to a CDD project in the Philippines. It draws on the literature on participatory budgeting to argue that participation of the socially excluded groups like the poor in the collective planning and budgeting determines the extent to which empowerment and democratization can be sustained. Using panel data collected in 2003 and 2010, the paper finds indications of elite control based on a decomposition of the profile of participants of village assemblies, which is a critical participatory institution in providing equal access to all members of the community to the deliberations and negotiations. The average participant of such village assemblies tend to be the less-poor household of the community with the participation of the poor dwindling over the years. The difference-in-difference impact estimation also reveals disappointing results for the poor. Although the project improved average household income among the poor, the project failed to enhance the social outcomes for the poor households such as participation in planning process, trust in the government and solidarity. This study adds to the existing literature showing that CDD may fail to effectively target the poor.

Adaptation of the “Indicateurs de Durabilité des Exploitations Agricoles (IDEA)” method for assessing sustainability of farms in the lower valley of Ouémé River in the Republic of Benin

The Indicateurs de Durabilité des Exploitations Agricoles (IDEA) method was adapted and used to study the sustainability of farms in the Ouémé lower valley in the Republic of Benin. The IDEA survey was tested among a sample of farmers, through discussion groups at village level and via interviews with resource staff. The data collected were then subjected to binomial tests and results from the interviews subject to Student t-test. The study showed that some units of sustainability in the initial version of IDEA are applicable in the study area without modification. Other units, such as permanent or temporary grassland, were rejected as they were not considered relevant by village assemblies. Some elementary units, such as the spatial units of the same crop (indicator A6: size of plots), were reformulated to meet the local context. Finally, the scores for some sustainability indicators, such as C1 (economic viability), were adjusted to meet the local context. With further modification, the adapted version of the IDEA method could be used in other agro-ecological zones in Benin and Africa.

Under What Conditions Can Local Government Nurture Indigenous People’s Democratic Practice? A Case Study of Two Ho Village Assemblies in Jharkhand

This paper asks whether and under what conditions participatory local government can best nurture indigenous peoples’ democratic practice. Based on fieldwork in two similar Ho communities in the Indian state Jharkhand, we show that their village assemblies function differently with regard to meetings, wood access regulation, development projects, and participation. Neither prevents exclusion and co- option. This supports the argument that while local governments can hardly challenge existing power structures, they can under certain conditions nurture democratic practice and democratisation. Our study indicates that high literacy, social cohesion, active state support, and proactive leadership are conditions under which this best happens.

Networks and Anti-poverty Programs: Experience of India's National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

Governments struggle with the reality that the beneficiaries of anti-poverty programs are powerless to influence policies and prevent the possibility of capture of benefits by the non-poor. Networks – social and political – are supposed to increase the ability of the less-powerful to access their entitlements. This article assesses whether socially and politically networked households do in fact have better awareness of the components of the program and of the processes of decision making, and whether such networking makes them more likely to vocalise their dissatisfaction when their entitlements are threatened. India's national rural employment guarantee scheme's institutional design (mandating village assemblies to authorise decisions on the projects) makes it a good test case. Our results show that links to social and political networks significantly increase the beneficiary's awareness of the program's components and enhances the ability to seek redress. Les gouvernements doivent faire face au fait que les beneficiaires de programmes anti-pauvrete n’ont aucune influence sur leurs politiques sous-jacentes, et peinent a empecher les non-pauvres de s’approprier ces aides. Appartenir a des reseaux – sociaux et politiques – est cense aider ceux qui ont peu de pouvoir a acceder aux aides auxquels ils ont droit. Cet article cherche a determiner si les menages faisant partie de reseaux politiques et sociaux sont reellement plus au fait des composantes des programmes et des processus de decision qui les determinent, et si leur appartenance a de tels reseaux augmente leur probabilite d’exprimer leur mecontentement lorsque leurs droits sont menaces. Le plan national de garantie d’emploi rural mis en œuvre en Inde, et son organisation institutionnelle – le pouvoir de decision concernant les projets est donne aux assemblees de village – constituent un bon cas d’etude. Nos resultats montrent que l’appartenance des beneficiaires a des reseaux sociaux et politiques ameliore sensiblement leur connaissance des composantes des programmes ainsi que leur capacite a demander reparation.

Do community-driven development projects enhance social capital? Evidence from the Philippines

We explore the social capital impacts of a community-driven development project in the Philippines in which communities competed for block grants for infrastructure investment. The analysis uses a unique panel data set of about 2100 households, aggregated at the village-level, collected in 66 treatment and 69 comparison communities. We provide both difference-in-differences and propensity score matching estimates. We find that the project increased participation in village assemblies and the frequency with which local officials meet with residents and had a negative impact on collective action. There is also more limited evidence of a positive impact of the project on bridging (i.e., generalized) trust and of a negative impact on group membership.

Empowering the ‘socially excluded’ in rural local governments: An exploratory study from a State in India

The study investigates the effects of mandatory political representation of women and non-forward castes in India (73rd Constitutional Amendment) on development preferences and social equity. We used systematic content analysis of proceedings from meetings of 155 rural village assemblies. The study revealed overemphasis on physical infrastructure, relative neglect of health and education, influence of state government directives and marginalization of gender issues. However, there was higher likelihood of articulation of non forward caste-related issues by non-forward caste chairpersons. A paradigm shift in the development perspective of local governments, stressing investments in leadership development is needed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ruling peasants: village and state in late imperial Russia

Who ruled the countryside in late Imperial Russia? On the rare occasions that tsarist administrators dared pose the question so boldly, their discouraged answer was that peasants ruled. Historians have largely echoed this assessment, pointing to the state's failure to penetrate rural society as a key reason for the tsarist government's collapse. Ruling Peasants challenges this dominant paradigm of the closed village by investigating the ways peasants engaged tsarist laws and the local institutions that were created in a series of contradictory legal, administrative, and agrarian reforms from the late 1880s to the eve of World War I. Gaudin's analysis of the practices of village assemblies, local courts, and elected peasant elders reveals a society riven by dissension. As villagers argued among themselves in terms defined by a distant government, the peasants and their communities were transformed. Key concepts such as 'custom,' 'commune,' 'property,' and 'fairness' were forged in such dialogue between the rulers and the ruled. By the end of the 19th century, the framework of dialogue between the peasants and the state no longer worked. The more peasants used the institutions and laws available to them, the more they solicited the authorities and the greater the obstacles to communication grew. Villagers' rising expectations for assistance foundered in the face of inconsistent state policies and arbitrary legal responses. Ironically, the success of often contradictory reforms - a success unrecognized by administrators themselves - contributed to undermining the state's legitimacy.

Corinne Gaudin, Ruling Peasants

In Ruling Peasants Corinne Gaudin considers the ways in which the Russian state exercised authority vis-a-vis peasants after Emancipation and especially after 1889, when the institution of land captains was established and the volost courts were reformed. She rightly includes the village assemblies and land communes, which wielded the state’s authority by an implicit delegation. In all the issues examined, Gaudin displays great subtlety; above all, she reveals the full untidiness of political...