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International audience ; The emergence of new participatory mechanisms, such as participatory budgeting, in towns and cities in recent years, has given rise to a confl ict between the old protagonists of local participation and the new citizens invited to participate. These mechanisms offer a logic of collective action different to what has been the usual fare in the cities - one that is based on proposal rather than demand. As a result, it requires urban social movements to transform their own dynamics in order to make room for a new political subject (the citizenry and the non-organised participant) and to act upon a stage where deliberative dynamics now apply. The present article aims to analyse this confl ict in two cities that set up participatory budgeting: Córdoba and Paris. The associations in the cities took up a position against the new participatory mechanism and demanded a bigger role in the political arena. The article concludes with refl ections on the consequences this confl ict could have for contemporary political theory. ; La emergencia de nuevos dispositivos participativos en las ciudades durante los últimos años, como los presupuestos participativos, ha provocado un conflicto entre los antiguos actores de la participación local y los nuevos ciudadanos invitados a participar. Estos dispositivos plantean una lógica de acción colectiva distinta a la que ha sido habitual sustento en las ciudades, basada en la proposición más que en la reivindicación. Como consecuencia exige a los movimientos sociales urbanos transformar sus propias dinámicas con el objeto de dar cabida a un nuevo sujeto político (la ciudadanía y el participante no organizado) y actuar en un escenario atravesado ahora por dinámicas deliberativas. Este trabajo tiene como objetivo analizar ese confl icto en dos ciudades que pusieron en marcha el presupuesto participativo: Córdoba y Paris. Las asociaciones se posicionaron en contra del nuevo dispositivo participativo y reclamaron mayor protagonismo en los espacios políticos. El ...

Background: Fair processes in decision making need the involvement of stakeholders who can discuss issues and reach an agreement based on reasons that are justifiable and appropriate in meeting people's needs. In Tanzania, the policy of decentralization and the health sector reform place an emphasis on community participation in making decisions in health care. However, aspects that can influence an individual's opportunity to be listened to and to contribute to discussion have been researched to a very limited extent in low-income settings. The objective of this study was to explore challenges to fair decision-making processes in health care services with a special focus on the potential influence of gender, wealth, ethnicity and education. We draw on the principle of fairness as outlined in the deliberative democratic theory. Methods: The study was carried out in the Mbarali District of Tanzania. A qualitative study design was used. In-depth interviews and focus group discussion were conducted among members of the district health team, local government officials, health care providers and community members. Informal discussion on the topics was also of substantial value. Results: The study findings indicate a substantial influence of gender, wealth, ethnicity and education on health care decision-making processes. Men, wealthy individuals, members of strong ethnic groups and highly educated individuals had greater influence. Opinions varied among the study informants as to whether such differences should be considered fair. The differences in levels of influence emerged most clearly at the community level, and were largely perceived as legitimate. Conclusions: Existing challenges related to individuals' influence of decision making processes in health care need to be addressed if greater participation is desired. There is a need for increased advocacy and a strengthening of responsive practices with an emphasis on the right of all individuals to participate in decision-making processes. This simultaneously implies an emphasis on assuring the distribution of information, training and education so that individuals can participate fully in informed decision making. ; publishedVersion

Informacijos ir komunikacijos technologijų plėtra yra viena pagrindinių charakteristikų, apibūdinančių socialinius, kultūrinius, ekonominius XXI a. demokratijos procesus. Fundamentalūs kaitos procesai veikia ir politikos komunikacijos sritį – neišvengiama pokyčių, įsitraukia nauji veikėjai, naudojami nauji įrankiai, kinta komunikacijos įpročiai. Šio straipsnio tikslas – apžvelgti literatūrą, kurioje nagrinėjami iššūkiai bei galimybės, siejamos su piliečių įsitraukimo bei politinio dalyvavimo praktikomis socialiniais tinklais ir ryšiais grindžiamoje virtualiojoje erdvėje. Straipsnyje taip pat pristatomas bandomasis tyrimas, analizuojantis politiškai aktyvių jaunų žmonių demokratinio įsitraukimo praktikas socialinėse medijose. Keliami klausimai aktualūs ir ateities tyrimams bei diskusijoms: ar socialinės medijos galėtų tapti patraukliu kanalu, prisidedančiu aktyvinant jaunų auditorijų politinio bei pilietinio dalyvavimo praktikas?Assessing participation online:Youth and Their Involvement in Social MediaLina Auškalnienė SummaryThe role of political participation and civic engagement as the backbones of modern deliberative democracy is challenged by new opportunities for involvement online. Fundamental societal transformations, facilitated by new technologies, are changing the way we interact, communicate, produce and exchange knowledge. By nature being a bottom-up experiment, social media are more and more involved into the everyday communication practice and become one of the major political communication channels.The purpose of this paper is to review the literature analysing the democratic citizens' engagement and political participation in the era of the Internet, particularly focusing on the involvement of young people in the decision-making process. Moreover, a pilot case study is presented, reflecting the practices of politically active young individuals in the online communicative space. The data available are analysed to shed some light on the debate and to focus attention on several aspects of youth participation. Looking further, the questions are raised: is the Internet an attractive channel to enhance political interest and discussion among the youngsters? What impact may online communication practice via social media have on civic and political participation of young people offline?Key words: social media, political participation, democratic engagement, political communication, Internet, youth

In this section I will analyse the relationship between governmental transparency and public trust. In doing so, I want to figure out under which circumstances transparency can lead to an increased trust in government. Answering these questions will be of utmost importance for the way we organise politics as a society. Do we want a clear distinction between governors and governed? Or do we rather wish a conception of politics in which every citizen can participate? Whether we decide for the first or the second of these options will in turn also determine our expectations with regard to transparency. Transparency is not a monolithic concept and it occurs in many different forms (cf. Heald, 2006). In this paper I will attempt to develop an understanding of transparency which is embedded in the framework of deliberative democracy (Held, 2006; Warren, 1999). This means that transparency cannot stop with the retrospective provision of governmental information. Indeed, policy-makers seem to have acknowledged the potential of expanded transparency. In an attempt to comply with the demands for increased transparency, governments have launched freedom of information legislations (Birkinshaw, 2006; Relly & Sabharwal, 2009). In 2005, the German government, too, has set up such a law. According to this act "[everyone] is entitled to official information from the authorities of the Federal Government" (Freedom of Information Act, 2005, art.1). However, the exceptions from this general rule included in the law prevent that the citizen enjoys transparency which enables him to better monitor governmental working. These exceptions comprise for instance drafts and working papers of governmental institutions. Jeannine Relly and Meghna Sabharwal conclude that freedom of information laws do not suffice to improve the public's perception of transparency (Relly & Sabharwal, 2009). Further, this implies that the notion of transparency implicit in such pieces of legislation (i.e. retrospective delivery of information) does not encourage citizens to trust their government.

ResumenEl trabajo tiene por objeto analizar cómo el régimen chavista ha articulado una estrategia dirigida a debilitarla representación proporcional de las minorías. La investigación toma como antecedentes las eleccionesde la Asamblea Nacional Constituyente de 1999 y las elecciones parlamentarias de 2005, paraposteriormente analizar en profundidad las elecciones parlamentarias de 2010, realizadas en el marcode una nueva ley electoral, que consagra el sistema mixto mayoritario o segmentado (Nohlen, 2007) y legaliza irregularidades que afectan la expresión legítima de la voluntad popular como el gerrymanderingy el malapportionement. La conclusión del trabajo es terminante: La paulatina sustitucióndel principio de representación proporcional por un sistema mixto mayoritario o segmentado en laelección de los cuerpos deliberantes, obedece a una estratagema gubernamental destinada a consolidarun proyecto personalista, enmarcado dentro de lo que Schedler (2004) denomina "autoritarismoelectoral", siendo este un tipo de régimen en el cual los gobiernos autoritarios permiten la realizaciónde elecciones "controladas" para no arriesgarse a perder el poder.Weakening the Venezuelan proportional representation system: Two coins of the same tokenAbstractThe work aims to analyze how Chavez´s regime has been articulating a strategy aimed at weakeningthe proportional representation of minorities. In this research, I take as background the elections for the Constituent National Assembly of 1999 and the parliamentary elections of 2005, to then analyze in depththe parliamentary elections of 2010, carried out within the framework of a new electoral law, whichsets forth the majority or segmented mixed system (Nohlen, 2007) and legalizes irregularities affectingthe legitimate expression of the will of the people such as "gerrymandering" and "malapportionment."The conclusion of this work is unequivocal: the gradual substitution of the principle of proportional representation for a majority or segmented mixed system regarding the election of deliberative bodiesis due to a Government ploy aimed at consolidating a personalist project, framed within what Schedler (2004) calls "electoral authoritarianism", and this is an authoritarian regime intending to "fix elections"not to risk losing power.

Informacijos ir komunikacijos technologijų plėtra yra viena pagrindinių charakteristikų, apibūdinančių socialinius, kultūrinius, ekonominius XXI a. demokratijos procesus. Fundamentalūs kaitos procesai veikia ir politikos komunikacijos sritį – neišvengiama pokyčių, įsitraukia nauji veikėjai, naudojami nauji įrankiai, kinta komunikacijos įpročiai. Šio straipsnio tikslas – apžvelgti literatūrą, kurioje nagrinėjami iššūkiai bei galimybės, siejamos su piliečių įsitraukimo bei politinio dalyvavimo praktikomis socialiniais tinklais ir ryšiais grindžiamoje virtualiojoje erdvėje. Straipsnyje taip pat pristatomas bandomasis tyrimas, analizuojantis politiškai aktyvių jaunų žmonių demokratinio įsitraukimo praktikas socialinėse medijose. Keliami klausimai aktualūs ir ateities tyrimams bei diskusijoms: ar socialinės medijos galėtų tapti patraukliu kanalu, prisidedančiu aktyvinant jaunų auditorijų politinio bei pilietinio dalyvavimo praktikas?Assessing participation online: Youth and Their Involvement in Social MediaLina Auškalnienė
SummaryThe role of political participation and civic engagement as the backbones of modern deliberative democracy is challenged by new opportunities for involvement online. Fundamental societal transformations, facilitated by new technologies, are changing the way we interact, communicate, produce and exchange knowledge. By nature being a bottom-up experiment, social media are more and more involved into the everyday communication practice and become one of the major political communication channels.The purpose of this paper is to review the literature analysing the democratic citizens' engagement and political participation in the era of the Internet, particularly focusing on the involvement of young people in the decision-making process. Moreover, a pilot case study is presented, reflecting the practices of politically active young individuals in the online communicative space. The data available are analysed to shed some light on the debate and to focus attention on several aspects of youth participation. Looking further, the questions are raised: is the Internet an attractive channel to enhance political interest and discussion among the youngsters? What impact may online communication practice via social media have on civic and political participation of young people offline?Key words: social media, political participation, democratic engagement, political communication, Internet, youth

AbstractMonetary valuation of urban green space using stated‐preference approaches has gained prominence among pragmatic urban researchers, but the resultant reduced potential for value pluralism has gone unnoticed. There is confusion on value concepts. Public‐social values have been treated as private‐economic ones. The potential for reflecting the multiple values and social roles of urban nature is thus reduced. Being method‐driven, the practice fails to relate to the claimed objective of comprehensively portraying it. There is inadequate understanding of the philosophy and psychology of the values associated with urban green space, despite its multi‐faceted role being widely recognized. This results in an unreflective acceptance of economic techniques. More work is needed to clarify issues concerning the manifestation and theoretical foundation of value pluralism. Deliberative approaches may be a potential complementary or alternative valuation method.RésuméL'évaluation monétaire de l'espace vert urbain à l'aide de modèles basés sur les préférences déclarées a pris de l'importance chez les auteurs pragmatiques de la recherche urbaine, mais le fait qu'elle affaiblit le potentiel du pluralisme des valeurs est passé inaperçu. Les concepts de valeur se mélangent. Les valeurs publiques sociales ont été traitées comme des valeurs privées économiques. La capacité de refléter les multiples valeurs et rôles sociaux de la nature urbaine a donc été réduite. La pratique, mue par la méthode, ne rejoint pas l'objectif exprimé de représenter intégralement cet espace. Bien que les différentes facettes de son rôle soient généralement reconnues, il se crée une compréhension inadéquate de la philosophie et de la psychologie des valeurs associées à l'espace vert urbain. C'est ainsi que les techniques économiques sont acceptées sans discernement. Il faut envisager d'autres études pour clarifier les aspects liés à la manifestation et au fondement théorique du pluralisme des valeurs. Des approches délibératives pourraient constituer une méthode d'évaluation complémentaire ou alternative.

Lately, lots of effort has been put into the construction of robots able to live among humans. This fact has favored the development of personal or social robots, which are expected to behave in a natural way. This implies that these robots could meet certain requirements, for example, to be able to decide their own actions (autonomy), to be able to make deliberative plans (reasoning), or to be able to have an emotional behavior in order to facilitate human-robot interaction. In this paper, the authors present a bioinspired control architecture for an autonomous and social robot, which tries to accomplish some of these features. In order to develop this new architecture, authors have used as a base a prior hybrid control architecture (AD) that is also biologically inspired. Nevertheless, in the later, the task to be accomplished at each moment is determined by a fix sequence processed by the Main Sequencer. Therefore, the main sequencer of the architecture coordinates the previously programmed sequence of skills that must be executed. In the new architecture, the main sequencer is substituted by a decision making system based on drives, motivations, emotions, and self-learning, which decides the proper action at every moment according to robot's state. Consequently, the robot improves its autonomy since the added decision making system will determine the goal and consequently the skills to be executed. A basic version of this new architecture has been implemented on a real robotic platform. Some experiments are shown at the end of the paper. ; This work has been supported by the Spanish Government through the project called "Peer to Peer Robot-Human Interaction" (R2H), of MEC (Ministry of Science and Education), the project "A new approach to social robotics" (AROS), of MICINN (Ministry of Science and Innovation), the CAM Project S2009/DPI-1559/ROBOCITY2030 II, developed by the research team RoboticsLab at the University Carlos III of Madrid.

This paper describes case study research undertaken in six Iranian manufacturing companies aimed at advancing the understanding of the manufacturing strategy formation process. As shown in this study, culture, leadership, policy and incrementalism have their own undeniable roles in manufacturing strategy formation. Cultural factors impact on political factors, and political factors impact on individual factors. It could be useful To utilize formal business planning for firms interested in deliberative manufacturing strategy. In this study, we use Barnes's manufacturing strategy formation process as frameworks with some new changes. Also a case study methodology was used to investigate the process of formation of manufacturing strategy in six small manufacturing companies in Iran like Barnes did in the UK. The results of this study are the main features of the process of manufacturing strategy formation and manufacturing strategy formation model in the case companies. In the case study method, external validity is inevitably compromised due to the limited number of companies that can be studied. The demonstrated model in this study offers a comprehensible view in organizational and external contexts that can be used by manufacturing decision makers. Santrauka Straipsnyje aprašomi šešiose Irano gamybos įmonėse atlikti moksliniai tyrimai, įrodantys gamybos strategijos formavimo proceso reikšmę. Tyrimas nustatė, kad kultūra, vadovavimas ir politika turi savo neginčijamą įtaką gamybos strategijos formavimo procese. Kultūriniai veiksniai daro įtaką politiniams veiksniams, o politiniai veiksniai veikia individualius veiksnius. Gali būti naudinga naudoti formalų verslo planavimą formuojant įmonės gamybos strategiją. Šiame tyrime buvo naudojamas modifikuotas Barnes gamybos strategijos formavimo procesas. Barnes pavyzdžiu buvo siekiama ištirti gamybos strategijos formavimo procesą šešiose nedidelėse Irano gamybos įmonėse. Šio tyrimo rezultatai atskleidė tiriamų įmonių gamybos strategijos formavimo proceso ypatumus. Tyrimui neišvengiamo subjektyvumo suteikia ribotas ištirtų įmonių skaičius. Pasiūlytas modelis leidžia visapusiškai ištirti vidinę ir išorinę organizacijos aplinkas bei pasiūlyti sprendimus gamybos planuotojams. First published online18 Jan 2012 Reikšminiai žodžiai:gamybos strategija,strategijos formavimas,apgalvoti sprendimai,staigūs sprendimai,Iranas

This paper describes case study research undertaken in six Iranian manufacturing companies aimed at advancing the understanding of the manufacturing strategy formation process. As shown in this study, culture, leadership, policy and incrementalism have their own undeniable roles in manufacturing strategy formation. Cultural factors impact on political factors, and political factors impact on individual factors. It could be useful To utilize formal business planning for firms interested in deliberative manufacturing strategy. In this study, we use Barnes's manufacturing strategy formation process as frameworks with some new changes. Also a case study methodology was used to investigate the process of formation of manufacturing strategy in six small manufacturing companies in Iran like Barnes did in the UK. The results of this study are the main features of the process of manufacturing strategy formation and manufacturing strategy formation model in the case companies. In the case study method, external validity is inevitably compromised due to the limited number of companies that can be studied. The demonstrated model in this study offers a comprehensible view in organizational and external contexts that can be used by manufacturing decision makers. Article in English. Gamybos strategijos formavimo procesas Irano gamybos įmonėse Santrauka.Straipsnyje aprašomi šešiose Irano gamybos įmonėse atlikti moksliniai tyrimai, įrodantys gamybos strategijos formavimo proceso reikšmę. Tyrimas nustatė, kad kultūra, vadovavimas ir politika turi savo neginčijamą įtaką gamybos strategijos formavimo procese. Kultūriniai veiksniai daro įtaką politiniams veiksniams, o politiniai veiksniai veikia individualius veiksnius. Gali būti naudinga naudoti formalų verslo planavimą formuojant įmonės gamybos strategiją. Šiame tyrime buvo naudojamas modifikuotas Barnes gamybos strategijos formavimo procesas. Barnes pavyzdžiu buvo siekiama ištirti gamybos strategijos formavimo procesą šešiose nedidelėse Irano gamybos įmonėse. Šio tyrimo rezultatai atskleidė tiriamų įmonių gamybos strategijos formavimo proceso ypatumus. Tyrimui neišvengiamo subjektyvumo suteikia ribotas ištirtų įmonių skaičius. Pasiūlytas modelis leidžia visapusiškai ištirti vidinę ir išorinę organizacijos aplinkas bei pasiūlyti sprendimus gamybos planuotojams. Reikšminiai žodžiai: gamybos strategija,strategijos formavimas,apgalvoti sprendimai,staigūs sprendimai,Iranas. First published online18 Jan 2012

El interés de este artículo es evaluar el tema de la construcción de "una opinión pública" ilustrada como camino de consolidación de la democracia moderna en Colombia. Este aspecto constituye un elemento fundante, pues integra la complejidad de la democracia a través del diálogo entre sistema y mundo de la vida. Igualmente, desde la opinión pública y sus posibilidades, puede evaluarse la consolidación democrática como prueba de funcionamiento del conjunto de las instituciones sociales, en su búsqueda de libertades en ámbitos de eficiencia, justicia y armonía social; en el sentido de una democracia deliberativa-radical, y siguiendo a Amartya Sen, por un desarrollo como libertad. En el caso colombiano, con las debilidades de su estructura estatal, fenómenos como el narcotráfico y la lucha guerrillera, el precario desarrollo de una ilustración entre la población, y en particular la inequidad económica y social, se erigen como impedimentos en el proceso de construcción de una opinión pública madura, beligerante y decisoria. ; This article aims at evaluating the topic of "public opinion" construction illustrated as a road toward modern democracy consolidation in Colombia. This aspect constitutes a basis element, because integrates democracy complexity through a dialog between life system and life world. Furthermore, from the public opinion and its potentialities, the democratic consolidation can be evaluated as evidencing that social institutions work as a group on seeking freedom in the realms of efficiency, justice, and social harmony; within the meaning of a radical-deliberative democracy and following Amartya Sen in the pursuance of development as freedom. As for Colombia with the government structures' weaknesses, phenomena such as narcotrafic and guerrilla group fight, poor development of population literacy and particularly, the social and financial inequity arise as impairments to the process of building a mature and belligerent public opinion with decisionmaking power.

There are many reasons that highlight the need to foster "participative dimension of democracy". Some of them are the lack of enough involvement of citizens, the weakening of the traditional ways of representation, the increasingly technocratic character of the decision making process and the predominance of the elitist and delegative conception of democracy in Latin America (O'Donnell, 1993; Avritzer, 2002; PNUD, 2004). In Chile there has raised an enthusiastic debate but with lack of outcomes, despite the variety of legal initiatives and public policies to deal with this issue. But the democratic governance design that has been hegemonic since late eighties has restricted institutional participation to powerless mechanisms, with a mainly consultative character and not linked to the creation of a deliberative public space. The possibility of broadening of such participation needs to align the different efforts. Until now they have been isolated and lacking of a clear political will, just as of standards that could assure their sustainability and institutionalization. ; La escasa involucración de los ciudadanos, el debilitamiento de los mecanismos de representación, la tecnificación del proceso de toma de decisiones, y el predominio de las concepciones elitistas y solo delegativas en América Latina, son factores que han llevado a plantear la necesidad de fortalecer la "dimensión participativa de la democracia" (O'Donnell, 1993; Avritzer, 2002; PNUD, 2004). En Chile el tema ha suscitado relativo entusiasmo pero ha tenido escasos frutos, generándose diversas iniciativas legales y de política pública para abordarlo. Sin embargo, el diseño de la gobernabilidad democrática hegemónico desde fines de los ochenta ha restringido la participación institucional a instancias de escaso poder, de carácter principalmente consultivas y no vinculadas a la creación de espacio público deliberativo. La posibilidad de ampliación de dicha participación supone hacer coherentes los esfuerzos hasta ahora aislados y carentes tanto de una ...

In front of the multiplication of the participative bends in the management of public policies, it is crucial to wonder about the capacity of participative democracy to constitute an element of the mutation of local politics. This reflection collided for a long time with critical positions interpreting its developement as an imposture intended to throw a democratic veil on procedures still so opaque and calcified as well as in normative postures trying to promote a shape of civic commitment pure and authentic. Our study proposes to enrich a pragmatic approach to determine the real conditions of its implementation and its concrete effects. This work is led, to report better the heterogeneousness of the participative logics and practices, on a comparative analysis of several devices, on the scale of the city of Nancy and the departement of Meurthe-et-Moselle. In this framework, we were able to observe a phenomenon of institutionalization of the citizen participation within local authorities. The conditions of the emergence of a participation standard guiding public action however appear to indicate a certain restraint, characterized by the limitation of the field of application of the participative procedures or of the kind of citizens knowledges mobilized. The effects provoked by the application of the participative standard on the local public space also raise numerous ambiguities. The studied devices seem very remote from deliberative and participative theoretical frames. Also, the lake of inclusion as well as the obstinacy of logics of politicization appropriate for the representative system questions about the capacity of the participative democracy to meet the challenges which she suggests nevertheless surmounting. ; Face à la multiplication des détours participatifs dans la conduite des politiques publiques, il est important de s'interroger sur la capacité de la démocratie participative à constituer un facteur de la mutation de l'action publique locale. Cette réflexion s'est longtemps incarnée dans des ...

In a climate changing world, two of the greatest challenges of environmental and social governance are those of transforming our energy systems and creating more adaptive and democratic institutions. The shortcomings of current energy governance policies and practices are particularly evident in the continued support for the centralised burning of fossil fuels, with significant implications for emissions and environmental degradation. To date, research into energy governance has primarily focused on deliberative decision- and policy –making [1;2]. Participation-in-action and self- governance as an alternative governance strategy has been largely ignored. The result is that citizens are left feeling like "amateurs" who can play no other role than client in the civic process dominated by experts and the state [3]. In positioning participation-in-action as a more democratic form of governance and an emerging socially sustainable energy praxes, this paper reports on current research investigating a series of community energy projects in the UK. Informed by earlier work on barriers and incentives for community energy projects [4] and research into social enterprises, green citizenship and democracy [5;6], the key contribution of this paper is exploration of a new conceptual and methodological approach to community based energy governance centred on the notion of a systemic inquiry, which facilitates the development of governance activity models [7]. Understood in terms of associative democracy [8], governance activity models can be used to explore the key activities of community energy governance. This enables participant reflection on how and why community energy governance processes differ from command and control hierarchical governance structures typically found in corporations and government agencies. The paper concludes with an analysis of the role of community energy actors in governance processes, the key opportunities and limitations for the suggested approach and the changes to government policies and ...

The constraints experienced by water utilities in developing countries, with regard to the universal provision of access to water and improved water services, have been defined by international policymakers as "a crisis of governance". This study departs from the theoretical perspectives on governance and aspires to accumulate knowledge and advance understanding on how the performance of water utilities can be enhanced. The thesis comprises five papers and the cover essay. Four of the papers address case studies and one is a theoretically based paper, while all five papers are supported by reviews from the literature relevant to the topic of each paper. The thesis uses insights from literature reviews mapping relevant scientific theories and concepts in the areas of mainly governance, deliberative policymaking and communicative planning, social capital, civil society and institutional theoretical perspectives. The study integrates different research methods and explores theoretical perspectives on governance to examine the governance aspects of water utilities in the transition phase from public to private management and operation. The study investigates whether the governance structure that involves the private sector in the form of Public Private Partnership (PPP) of water utility has produced "good governance" and enhanced water governance in two cases, the Lema Water Company in Amman, Jordan and the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) in Accra, Ghana. The analysis highlights evidence of governance deficiency. Accordingly, the thesis argues against the policy design that assumes that simply transferring the management and operation of water utility to private operators would resolve the problems of water utilities and enhance water governance. The analyses and the conclusions reached in the papers, together with a review of the literature on New Institutional Economics theory that knits together all the theories that are utilised in the papers, offer insights in the understanding of aspects of water ...