B. C. Smith

Sustainable local democracy

To identify what is needed to sustain local democracy we need a model of democratic government and an idea of the kind of social and economic context that is supportive of democracy. Local democracy requires a combination of a liberal democratic model of local government and the prerequisites of democratic stability: economic development, equality, political culture and the development of civil society. However, a number of factors, non-local as well as local, may undermine local government and local democracy, especially centralization, economic decisions, external conflicts, dependency on civil servants, the dilution of elected representation, formalistic participation, skewed representation, class conflict and official attitudes. However, democratic local government can contribute to economic development, the reduction of inequality, a democratic political culture and the development of civil society, thereby strengthening local democracy.

`Enabling' and the 1993 Local Government Act in New South Wales

Different conceptions of ‘enablement’ provide a framework for the analysis of the reform of local government in New South Wales. The enabling local authority is one that contracts out to the commercial and not-for-profit sectors, adopts a consumerist approach to the recipients of services, engages in strategic planning, influences other organizations, stimulates pluralist collectivism, and facilitates participation. In New South Wales the Local Government Act of 1993, though potentially enabling, especially in the delegation of a general competence, has had less effect than might have been expected. However, local government has traditionally been enabling in the narrow sense as well as in the sense of employing interesting forms of participative community management and in seeking to influence the decisions of other organizations which are part of local governance. Some councils are developing community plans to strengthen these relationships.

Military Intervention in Politics

Direct military intervention in the politics of Third World countries has been a depressingly regular occurrence since the high-water mark of post-war independence. Between 1960 and 1980 three-quarters of Latin American states experienced coups, as did half of the Third World Asian states and over half of the African states (Clapham, 1985, p. 137; see also Woddis, 1977, pp. 7–10). The 1980s saw the trend continue strongly. Not a year passed without there being a coup or an attempted coup in some part of the Third World. Since 1948 there has been at least one coup attempt per developing country every five years (World Bank, 1991, p. 128). So far in the 1990s there have been coups or attempted coups in Chad (1990), Togo (1991), Peru, Sierra Leone and Haiti (1992), Guatemala and Nigeria (1993) and Gambia (1994).

The Idea of a ‘Third World’

Since this chapter examines a controversy over the label ‘Third World’ it is appropriate to begin with a definition. In order to identify the subject-matter of this book, to convey the diversity of the social and economic conditions found within the Third World, and to provide an outline of the major changes taking place in Third World countries, an indication of the key characteristics of Third World status must be given. For the purpose of this survey the Third World will be defined as a group of countries which have colonial histories and which are in the process of developing economically and socially from a status characterised by low incomes, dependence on agriculture, weakness in trading relations, social deprivation for large segments of society, and restricted political and civil liberties. This definition acknowledges the process of change and therefore the probable diversity of countries within the group. The following examination of Third World status and trends will follow the components of the definition: the achievement of political independence; average income levels; industrialisation; integration into the world economy; social well-being; and human development (Thomas, 1994, p. 10). By this definition the Third World comprises approximately 100 states in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean. Their combined population of some 4 billions accounts for 75 per cent of the world’s total and their territories cover nearly 70 per cent of the world’s land area (World Bank, 1993, pp. 238–9).