Militants and Citizens - 9780804751223

Militants and CitizensThe Politics of Participatory Democracy in Porto Alegre\nAuthor(s): Gianpaolo Baiocchi\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Stanford University Press, United States\nImprint: Stanford University Press\nISBN-13: 9780804751223, 978-0804751223\nSynopsis\nBrazil's democracy has frequently been described as unconsolidated, its citizens as apathetic and uninterested in politics. But in Porto Alegre, a host city to the World Social Forum, thousands of ordinary citizens participate in local governance, making binding decisions on urban policy on a daily basis. While there has been immense attention paid to the practice of participatory democracy in Porto Alegre, this is the first book to examine the politics, culture, and day-to-day activities of its citizens.\n\n Drawing on the rich tradition of urban ethnography and political theory, the book argues that Porto Alegre's importance may lie not just with its effective governance, but with its new political logic, namely a great.