Programs that induce citizen participation to improve the quality of government at the local level are the subjects of large amounts of funding and intense debate. This paper combines a randomized control trial of a citizenship training and facilitation program in rural India, with an in-depth, four-year ethnography of the intervention to understand the underlying mechanisms of change. The quantitative data show no impact from the intervention. Household and village survey data from 100 treatment and 100 control villages show considerable improvement across a wide variety of governance and participation indicators over time, but the differences in the changes between treatment and control villages are not statistically significant. The detailed qualitative data from a 10 percent subsample allow us to unpack the reasons why the intervention "failed," highlighting the role of variations in the quality of facilitation, lack of top-down support, and difficulties with confronting the stubborn challenge of persistent inequality. However, the qualitative investigation also uncovered subtle treatment effects that are difficult to observe in structured surveys. The paper thus demonstrates that a concerted effort to use "thick description" to uncover the process of change using careful and detailed qualitative work can add value to standard impact evaluations.

Social Media as a communication platform represents a novel and growing space for individuals and groups as well as state and non-state actors. The value of digital data to political parties has resulted in the proliferation of digital products which are revolutionising political campaigning. Academic analysis has tended to focus on institutional reactions to social media and its use in political campaigning. However at the individual level political representatives have increasingly been using social media in innovative and creative ways. This paper seeks to capture and explore this innovation through an appraisal of the use of social media by local councillors. Twitter offers councillors a new political space within which to interact with citizens. This paper is based upon a digital audit of the actions and interactions of councillors of Bristol City Council on twitter. The paper seeks to profile not only who is engaging in this online environment but also through a content analysis suggests a framework to appraise the ways in which they are using twitter. In appraising the ways in which councillors are communicating the paper offers critical insights into the balance between individual, institutional, geographic and party political content and analyses the direction of content in terms of reporting or consulting. Analysis contrasts the potential reach and levels of dialogue being delivered through the use of micro-blogging with those offered by traditional mechanisms. The paper concludes with an assessment of the value of social media as a tool to facilitate and assure accountability, representation and engagement.  

Strengthening city leadership by introducing directly elected mayors is now firmly on the agenda in the UK. Several cities, including Bristol, Leicester, Liverpool, and London already have directly elected mayors. Manchester plans to introduce a ‘metro mayor’ in 2017, with the prospect of other cities to follow. Supporters claim that the mayoral model of governance can provide visible, accountable, and effective city leadership. Critics argue that the model can lead to an over centralisation of power, weakening the role of councillors, undermining confidence in local democracy.

When a country begins a political transition away from violent conflict or non-democratic rule, there are many difficult steps that it must take. Developing an electoral justice system, which includes the means and mechanisms to ensure that electoral integrity is maintained or restored when an electoral process is damaged by repression, misconduct, or irregularities, may appear to decision-makers to be a secondary concern or even an afterthought. This Policy Paper argues for the establishment of an electoral justice system at the outset of a transition, and before initial elections are held. It explains why doing so, despite the challenges, is so important, and offers recommendations on how to develop such systems, in an environment where an adequate legal framework and strong electoral justice institutions may not yet exist.