Alex Shankland is a research fellow at the Institute of Development Studies. He has worked in Brazil, Peru, Angola and Mozambique as a researcher, NGO manager and social development consultant. His research interests have centred on rights, participation and policy, particularly in the health sector. Formerly the Research Manager for the Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability, he concluded his DPhil research on the theme of representation and health policy in the Brazilian Amazon.

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  The Indigenous Peoples' Movement, 'forest citizenship' and struggle...

  Shankland, A

  In VSP Coelho & B von Lieres (eds) Mobilizing for Democracy: Citizen Action and the Politics of Public Participation. London: Zed
  Due to copyright restrictions, we can only share the first three pages of this chapter online. The book can be ordere...
  Due to copyright restrictions, we can only share the first three pages of this chapter online. The book can be ordered from Zed Books at www.zedbooks.co.uk/citizenship or purchased at the IDS bookstore.
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  States of Mobilisation? A comparison of modes of interaction betwee...

  Mohanty, R, Coelho, VSP, Thompson, L, Pant, M, Shankland, A, Favareto, A, Tapscott, C & L , Piper

  African Centre for Citizenship and Democracy: Cape Town
  Democracy is considered the common ‘currency’ of state and civil society interaction in middle-economic-power states ...
  Democracy is considered the common ‘currency’ of state and civil society interaction in middle-economic-power states such as India, Brazil and South Africa. In fact the IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa) link, as it is understood in international relations, is premised upon certain political and economic similarities between these three states in the South, not least their democratic political foundations.1 In this paper we are looking at the IBSA states from a citizen-centric point of view, embarking upon a comparative analysis of how states deal with citizens’ demands from within...
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  Brazilian Experiences of Participation and Citizenship: A Critical ...

  Romano, J, Shankland, A & A, Cornwall

  Discussion Paper 389, joint Action Aid-IDS publication
  Brazil's emergence from two decades of military dictatorship in the mid-1980s gave rise to a flowering of democratic ...
  Brazil's emergence from two decades of military dictatorship in the mid-1980s gave rise to a flowering of democratic innovation. Experiences during the struggle for democracy shaped the experiments that took place over the following years to create institutions that could ensure the accountability and responsiveness of the new democratic state. Innovations in participatory governance, such as participatory budgeting and sectoral policy councils and conferences at each tier of government, provided crucibles for new meanings and expressions of citizenship and democracy. Brazil's participatory institutions have attracted considerable international attention. Academics, activists and practitioners in countries, with very different political histories and cultures of governance, have looked to Brazil for inspiration and have sought to replicate Brazil's democratic experiments in their own contexts.
  
  Brazilian models may seem an attractive new component to include in the democracy building packages favoured by aid agencies. But, this paper suggests, the contribution that Brazil's democratic innovations have to deepening democracy, enhancing accountability and engaging citizens may lie not only in their innovative institutional design but also in what Brazilian experience can teach us about the pre-conditions for effective participatory governance. Focusing on the north and north east of the country, whose experience is under-represented in the international literature, this paper draws together insights from four extended case studies, carried out as part of a research process that brought together activists, practitioners and academics, in a collaborative study of the meanings and practices of participation and citizenship in Brazil.
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  Participation, Mutation and Political Transition: New Democratic Sp...

  Shankland, A & S, Roque

  In A Cornwall & VSP Coelho (eds) Spaces for Change? The Politics of Citizen Participation in New Democratic Arenas. London: Zed
  Due to copyright restrictions, we can only share the first three pages of this chapter online. The book can be ordere...
  Due to copyright restrictions, we can only share the first three pages of this chapter online. The book can be ordered from Zed Books at www.zedbooks.co.uk/citizenship or purchased at the IDS bookstore.
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  Making Space for Citizens. Broadening the "New Democratic Spaces" f...

  Shankland, A

  IDS Policy Briefing, Issue 27
  The limits of democratisation strategies which focus only on the formal electoral arena are becoming increasingly cle...
  The limits of democratisation strategies which focus only on the formal electoral arena are becoming increasingly clear. In both North and South, interest is now growing in approaches to ‘deepening democracy’ which seek to extend the range and scope of opportunities for citizen participation. This has led to a proliferation of ‘new democratic spaces’. This IDS Policy Briefing takes a closer look at examples of these spaces in a number of very different countries. It argues that if they are to avoid becoming just another set of one-size-fits-all models, much more attention needs to be paid to key contextual factors as well as to institutional design. The Briefing concludes with some practical lessons on dealing with the key challenges which ‘new democratic spaces’ pose for policymakers and for citizen representatives.
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  Abrindo Espacos Para a Cidadania

  Shankland, A

  IDS Policy Briefing Issue 27