Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Character of Civil Society Organizational Life in Two Venezuelan Cities: State Decentralization and the Dynamics of Change

本文研究了委内瑞拉两个城市的公民社会的扩张国家权力下放的后果。 过去的理论对这些影响做出了相互矛盾的预测：一方面，市政府职能的扩大应该刺激地方公民机构的发展，因为政治决策越来越接近人们自己的经验。 另一方面，权力下放可能只会促进地方精英的寻租，从而抑制社团生活。 这项研究将比较两个城市的不同历史的公民发展。 将搜索目录和官方数据，以估计公民协会的增长。 与地方领导人的面谈将查明自实行国家权力下放以来这些组织的活动和结构有何变化

This dissertation investigates the consequences of state decentralization on the expansion of civil society in two Venezuelan municipalities. Past theory has made contradictory predictions about these effects: on the one hand, the expansion of municipal government functions should stimulate the growth of local civic institutions as political decisions are being made closer to people's own experience. On the other hand, decentralization may just promote rent seeking by local elites that would inhibit associational life. The research will compare two municipalities with different histories of civic development. Directories and official data will be searched to estimate the growth of civic associations. Interviews with local leaders will ascertain how the activities and structure of these organizations have changed since the adoption of state decentralization