Abstract

BORGES, Marisa  and  MASCHIETTO, Roberta Holanda. Citizenship and Local Empowerment in Peacebuilding Scenarios. Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais [online]. 2014, n.105, pp.65-84. ISSN 2182-7435.  https://doi.org/10.4000/rccs.5800.

This article critically discusses the ‘local turn’ in peacebuilding and development agendas. It begins by analyzing the inclusion of the concepts of local empowerment and ownership in the international agenda, identifying their highly apolitical and technical conceptualization. Secondly, taking into account the state-building premises underlying these reforms, it stresses the paradoxical absence of any concept of citizenship within these agendas. Taking a critical stand on these issues, the article proposes a re-politicization of the concepts of empowerment and citizenship and their combined use in analysis, in order to restore the important dimension of power dynamics which exist not only within the local/international divide - a frequently discussed topic - but also internally within states emerging from war, given that this forms the basis for sustainable long-term peace.

Keywords : citizenship; empowerment; peacebuilding; power.

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