From Protest to Proposal: The Contentious Politics of the Nicaraguan Anti-Water Privatisation Social Movement

The Bolivian 'water wars' of 2000 cast the international spotlight on civil society interventions aimed at reversing neoliberal economic agendas. However, few studies have examined the ways in which activists move from protest to proactive policy formation in these cases of 'contentio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bulletin of Latin American research 2012-10, Vol.31 (4), p.499-514
Main Author: ROMANO, SARAH T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accountability
Activism
basic services
Bolivia
Case studies
Civil Society
contentious politics
Democracy
Democratic consolidation
democratisation
Field work
Fieldwork
Governmental process
Institutions
Intervention
Neoliberalism
Nicaragua
Policy Making
Political conflicts
Politics
privatisation
Privatization
Representative democracy
Social activism
Social exclusion
Social Movements
Third-party intervention
Utilities
War
water
Water consumption
Water distribution
Water rights
Water supply
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Summary:The Bolivian 'water wars' of 2000 cast the international spotlight on civil society interventions aimed at reversing neoliberal economic agendas. However, few studies have examined the ways in which activists move from protest to proactive policy formation in these cases of 'contentious politics'. Drawing on extensive field research, I argue that the Nicaraguan anti-water privatisation social movement has expanded the contours of Nicaraguan democracy in two ways: (a) through improving the inclusiveness and accountability of existing representative institutions of government, including policy-making processes, and (b) through creating extra-institutional democratic spaces and practices.
ISSN:0261-3050
1470-9856
DOI:10.1111/j.1470-9856.2012.00700.x