Repositori URV

Identifier: TDX:1461

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TDX1461

Authors:
Haro Encinas, Jesus Armando

Abstract:
The main purpose of the present work is to explore a field of interaction which, although poorly defined and perhaps ambiguous because of growing importance to current political praxis: citizen participation in local public government. The study deals specifically with relationships, means and channels, and links between interacting actors and sectors. The political class, the technical and administrative personnel of the Ajuntament or municipality, the variety of civil associations and the non-organized citizens are the protagonists of this study. They are the local actors that shape public life in Reus, a city that hosts almost the entire population of the municipality of the same name, located in the south of Catalonian and, therefore, within the political influence of Spain and the European Union, which remains strong over the local level. It is also a place where public participation still has special importance due to a very rich local history of commitment and participation of the people of Reus in political and public life beyond the local level.The thesis contains seven thematic chapters and a conclusion, followed by the bibliography. The first chapter discusses the theoretical and methodological issues related to our study, reviewing some contributions from anthropological visions to the study of the political, followed by the methodological aspects of our work in terms of time and ethnographic techniques. The second chapter consist of a necessary theoretical reflection on the subject of participation, the historical evolution of concepts and terms such as public space, the nature of citizenship, and changes in the idea of democracy, all within the European context and paying special attention to the implications that issues of participation have in actuali