The Voice of Civil Society Organizations: Engagement of Civic Organizations in the Democratic Governance in Cabo Verde
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School of Sociology and Public Policies Department of Political Science and Public Policies The Voice of Civil Society Organizations: Engagement of Civic Organizations in the Democratic Governance in Cabo Verde José Maria Gomes Lopes Thesis specially presented for the fulfillment of the degree of Doctor in Public Policies Supevisor Doctor Helena Carreiras, Associate Professor ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa Co-supevisor Doctor Tiago Fernandes, Associate Professor Universidade Nova de Lisboa December, 2018 School of Sociology and Public Policies Department of Political Science and Public Policies The Voice of Civil Society Organizations: Engagement of Civic Organizations in the Democratic Governance in Cabo Verde José Maria Gomes Lopes Thesis specially presented for the fulfillment of the degree of Doctor in Public Policies Jury Presidente Doutor Pedro Adão Silva, Professor Auxiliar, ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa Vogais Doutor Rui Miguel Cravinho Branco, Professor Auxiliar, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Universidade de Lisboa Doutora Alexandra Magnólia de Vicente Quirino Alves Dias Saraiva, Professora Auxiliar, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Universidade de Lisboa Doutora Marina Castelo Branco Costa Lobo, Investigadora Principal, Instituto de Ciências Sociais, Universidade de Lisboa. Professora Auxiliar Convidada, ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa Doutora Edalina Sanches Rodrigues, Professora Auxiliar Convidada, ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa Orientadora Doutora Helena Chaves Carreiras, Professora Auxiliar, ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa Co-orientador Doutor Tiago Luís de Matos Roma Ferenandes, Professor Auxiliar c/Agregação- Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa December 2018 To the memory of my father, Punoi di N’ Tónia, and the love of the family Queen, Nha Liba. To my sisters, and to my brothers, with much appreciation! To Luísa, Mário, Djusé, with much respect! For Arlinda, Ju and Ary, with love! Acknowledgement I am deeply grateful to the individuals and institutions for the support they have provided me, which have made this research possible. Firstly, the Instituto Camões for providing me with the grants that guaranteed my stay in Portugal and the field research in Cabo Verde for four years consecutively. My thanks also go to ISCEE, for giving me a year leave, and for allowing me time to conduct research. On the same token, my thanks are extended to the public organizations in Cabo Verde which opened their doors for me to either consult documents or give me interviews. From the long list, I would like to highlight the delegations of the Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. My gratitude is also extended to the many individuals whose collaborations have been of utmost importance for the completion of this thesis. To my thesis supervisors, professors Helena Carreiras from ISCTE, and Tiago Fernandes from Universidade Nova de Lisboa, for your insightful guidance regarding the research approach and bibliography. I am deeply honored for having you as my supervisors. I would also like to thank professor José Viegas from ISCTE, and Edalina Sanches from Universidade de Lisboa, for the insights upon the conception of the research project. Likewise, to all the professors of the Doctorate Program in Public Policy, for your teachings. My thankfulness also goes to the tens of people in Cabo Verde who received me at their offices, homes, or who accepted to sit with me at cafés for hours of talking. The leaders of Unions, Mr. Julio Silva, Abrão Borges, a thousand thanks. To the former president of AJEC, and the executive secretary of the Sotavento Chamber of Commerce, many thanks. However, my deepest gratitude goes to the people who really made the empirical body of this research possible. They are the CRP leaders, and especially the leaders of CBOs in the Municipalities of Ribeira Grande, São Salvador do Mundo and Santa Catarina in the island of Santiago. These leaders guided me through their communities, some of which I had never been to, showed me their accomplishments, and encouraged me to move on. Many thanks to all of you. Thank you Mário, my cousin, and your family. I owe all my respect and gratitude. Thanks for everything. Thank you Elisa, for your encouragement and for your positive vibration. You have been simply a source of inspiration. I extend my thankfulness to all those who, in one way or another, have contributed to the accomplishment of this work. Finally, and above all, my families, my parents, my sisters and brothers. Love you all. i ii Abstract This thesis focuses on the engagement of civil society organizations (CSOs) in the public policy process in Cabo Verde. It has three focuses: It starts with the analysis of CSOs engagement in the national public policy process; then it focuses on CSOs involvement in local governance process, while the third part analyses the influence of that engagement on the performance of local government institutions. The thesis develops around two fundamental questions: “What factors influence the engagement of CSOs in the political process in Cabo Verde?” and, “To what extent does the engagement of CSOs influence government performance in Cabo Verde?” To answer these questions, two hypotheses have been considered: the institutional hypothesis, focusing on “political opportunity structures” that lead the engagement of CSOs in politics. The second hypothesis is the social capital, in its bridging and linking forms. The social changes occurred in Cabo Verde after its independence and the inauguration of democracy in 1990 prompted the resurgence of old social and solidary institutions of collective public goods that had existed in the country throughout its history. As these institutions gained conscience of the strength of their resource power, they became more politically active, and so, more engaging in the country’s political process. The institutional and the social capital hypotheses guide the development of the present work. They are not contradictory, as they may seem. Instead, they are harmonized throughout the research to complement each other. Key words: Civil society, civil society organizations, governance, political engagement, public policy, government performance Resumo Esta tese analiza o envolvimento de organizações da sociedade civil (OSC) nos processos de produção e implementação de políticas públicas em Cabo Verde. Essa análise é desenvolvida em três momentos: começa com a abordagem do envolvimento das OSCs nos processos de formatação e implemetação de políticas públicas a nível nacional; depois, e num segundo momento concentra-se no envolvimento das OSCs no processo de governança local. Por último, a análise centra-se na influência que o envolvimento das OSC exerce sobre o desempenho dos governos locais (Câmaras Municipais). A tese desenvolve-se em torno de duas questões fundamentais: “Que factores influenciam o envolvimento das OSCs no processo político em Cabo Verde?” E, “Até que ponto o envolvimento das OSCs influencia o desempenho das instituições governmentais em Cabo Verde?” Para responder a estas perguntas, foram consideradas dua hipóteses: a hipótese institucional, com o foco nas “estruturas de oportunidade política” que conduziram ao engajamento das OSC no processo político em Cabo Verde. A segunda hipótese é a do capital social, nas suas formas de bridging e linking. As mudanças sociais que ocorreram em Cabo Verde após a independência, e a inauguração da democracia em 1990, levaram ao ressurgimento de “instituições tradicionais” de solidariedade, de produção de bens públicos coletivos, e resolução de problemas colectivos. Deste modo, as formas organizacionais colectivas tradicionais ganharam consciência da força do seu poder, e se tornaram politicamente mais ativas e, portanto, mais engajadas no processo político do país. Assim, as duas hipóteses, institucional e de capital social, norteiam o desenvolvimento do presente trabalho. Elas não são contraditórios como podem parecer. Em vez disso, elas se harmonizam, e se complementam ao long do desenvolviemnto pesquisa. Palavras-chave: Sociedade civil, organizações da sociedade civil, governança, envolvimento político, políticas públicas, desempenho de instituições governamentais iii iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgement.................................................................................................................................... i Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... iii Resumo .................................................................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................................ ix LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................................... x ABREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ........................................................................................................... xiii INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 1 The late Third wave democratization in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the afterwards ............................. 4 Cabo Verde