Parliamentary effectiveness: public engagement for poverty reduction in Bangladesh and Ethiopia

在大多数国家，议会和议员的工作正在发生变化：随着许多国家发展出更好的结构和程序，他们变得更强大，但由于许多公民对他们的政治领导人更加失望，他们变得更弱。积极参与的民主对于最重要的社会和经济发展目标，特别是与减贫和挑战不平等有关的目标至关重要。人们普遍认为，在社会和经济发展方面取得进展的两个关键是：(A)具有强大反对党的有效议会和(B)积极的公众政治参与。然而，在埃塞俄比亚和孟加拉国，尽管议会的审查仍然很弱，但在减贫方面取得了进展。虽然政治人类学极大地增强了我们对国家如何融入社会的理解，但这项研究将更具体地探索议会、议员以及公众中的个人和团体之间的关系，提出一个首要问题：什么让议员有效，他们在减贫和促进平等中扮演什么角色，我们如何衡量它，由谁决定？目标是探索减贫在多大程度上依赖于一个有效的议会，让议员与公众接触。目标将是：1.绘制孟加拉国和埃塞俄比亚境内参与减贫倡议的议员和公众之间的关系图。通过两个案例研究探讨议员参与减贫工作的程度和效果：(A)与贫穷有关的决策和法律制定；(B)选民。从不同利益攸关方的角度评估议会和议员在减贫方面的作用。促进在三个国家发展研究人员衡量议会效力的能力。5.传播关于南亚、东非、英国和全球议会效力的调查结果和建议。通过主要采用定性的绘图、访谈和观察的方法，使用人类学、性别和行为者导向的方法，三个国家的研究人员网络将提供关于民主制度核心关系的独特数据集。这项研究是由索非亚协会、议事录协会以及埃塞俄比亚和孟加拉国的研究人员合作完成的。SOAS/会议过程正式纪录协会将支持国内研究人员开展这项研究，并在其所在地区和其他地区广泛传播研究成果。我们选择孟加拉国和埃塞俄比亚在一定程度上是基于高度贫困和不平等，经济和社会发展是两国的关键国家目标，英国和这两个国家之间关键的双边援助伙伴关系，以及我们自己在这两个地方的经验。两国在减贫方面都有共同的决心并取得了一些成功，但两国议会内部的反对力量薄弱，妇女代表人数较少，议员与公众之间的接触有限。这些国家的民主前景如何？从不同的角度来看，“善政”意味着什么？它在多大程度上是减少贫困的关键因素？如何才能更好地代表穷人的利益？我们将根据穷人的受众进行严谨的研究和高质量的产出，并通过广泛的后续行动影响广泛的利益攸关方。这些发现将发表在研究报告、良好的研究指南、期刊文章、博客和一本关于议会的专著中。还将通过我们广泛的国家和国际利益攸关方联系网络；当地、区域和国际媒体；在线和通过社交网络；以及在每个国家举办讲习班，举行最后一次项目传播会议和一系列会议，实现传播。

The work of parliament and parliamentarians is changing within most nations: they grow stronger as many countries develop better structures and processes but weaker in the sense that many citizens become more disillusioned with their political leaders. An engaged democracy is essential for the most overarching social and economic development goals and especially those concerned with poverty reduction and challenging inequalities. It is generally agreed that two keys to progress in social and economic development are: (a) an effective parliament with a strong opposition and (b) active public political participation. And yet in Ethiopia and Bangladesh progress has been made on poverty reduction even though parliamentary scrutiny remains weak.While political anthropology has greatly enhanced our understanding of how the state is embedded in society, this research will more specifically explore the relationship between parliament, parliamentarians and individuals and groups within the public, posing the overarching question: what makes MPs effective, what roles do they play in poverty reduction and the promoting of equality, how do we measure it and who decides? The goal is to explore the extent to which poverty reduction depends on an effective parliament with MPs engaging with the public. The objectives will be: 1. To undertake a mapping of relationships between parliamentarians and members of the public involved in poverty reduction initiatives within Bangladesh and Ethiopia.2. To explore the extent and effectiveness of public engagement by parliamentarians in poverty reduction through two case studies: (a) poverty-related policy-making and law-making, (b) constituencies.3. To assess from the perspectives of various stakeholders the role of parliament and parliamentarians in poverty reduction.4. To facilitate the development of researchers' capacity in three countries to measure parliamentary effectiveness. 5. To disseminate findings and recommendations about parliamentary effectiveness in South Asia, Eastern Africa, the UK and globally.Through mainly qualitative methods of mapping, interviews and observation, using anthropological, gender and actor-oriented approaches, a network of researchers in three countries will provide a unique dataset on relationships at the heart of democratic institutions.This research is a collaboration between SOAS, Hansard Society and researchers in Ethiopia and Bangladesh. SOAS/Hansard Society will support in-country researchers to carry out this research and disseminate findings widely in their regions and beyond. Our selection of Bangladesh and Ethiopia is based partly on high levels of poverty and inequality, economic and social development being key national objectives for both countries, the key bilateral aid partnerships between Britain and these two countries, and our own experience of both locations. Both countries share a determination and some success in reducing poverty, but weak oppositions within their parliaments, poor representation of women, and narrow engagement between parliamentarians and the public. What are the prospects for democracy in these countries? What does 'good governance' mean from different perspectives and to what extent is it a critical factor in reducing poverty? How can the representation of poor people's interests be improved?We will produce rigorous research and high quality outputs that are tailored to their audience and influence a wide range of stakeholders through extensive follow-up. The findings will be published in research reports, Good Research Guide, journal articles, blogs, and a monograph on parliament. Dissemination will also be achieved via our extensive network of national and international stakeholders contacts; local, regional and international media; online and through social networks; and through workshops in each of the countries, with a final project dissemination conference and series of meetings.