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Abstract:
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This study contests the universalism of public engagement models
by comparing reports of informal communication in two state-centered
participation processes for regional conservation planning.
Through interviews with stakeholders, the author finds that both
elites and nonelites deployed informal communication to amplify
and to defuse pressure for consensus. Much of the power of informal
communication derived from its relation to local knowledge and
place-based networking that was irrelevant in principle to formal
process activities—and this was welcomed in one community and
resisted in another. These differences highlight the overlooked role
of regional-scale political cultures in light of the increasing formalization
of participatory best practices. The article suggests that the
study of democratic engagement can gain by exploring the contextual
implementation of abstract deliberative ideals such as inclusion, publicity, and transparency. |