Prof. Laurence Piper
http://hdl.handle.net/10566/2238
2024-03-29T05:11:24ZPervasive, but not politicised: Everyday violence, local rule and party popularity in a Cape Town township
http://hdl.handle.net/10566/2195
Pervasive, but not politicised: Everyday violence, local rule and party popularity in a Cape Town township
Piper, Laurence; Wheeler, Joanna
Through examining violence in the township of Imizamo Yethu in Cape Town, we show that leadership in this
community is not based on violence, despite its pervasiveness in the settlement. Further, rule by local leaders
and the state is often weak, and normally not violently enforced. This account challenges three common
views in the literature. The first is that, under conditions of weak rule, violence is primarily about contests over
political power. The use of violence by a variety of social actors in Imizamo Yethu, but rarely by political leaders
or parties, challenges this assumption. The second is that violence is central to maintaining local rule - but in
Imizamo Yethu leaders have seldom used coercion. Lastly, our case illustrates that effective local rule is not
necessarily a condition of party identification, which is rooted in larger dynamics of state patronage and race
politics that may even weaken local rule.
2016-01-01T00:00:00Z‘How participatory institutions deepen democracy through broadening representation: the case of participatory budgeting in Porto Alegre, Brazil’
http://hdl.handle.net/10566/1260
‘How participatory institutions deepen democracy through broadening representation: the case of participatory budgeting in Porto Alegre, Brazil’
Piper, Laurence
Abstract: At the same time as democracy has ‘triumphed’ in most of the world, it leaves many unsatisfied at the disjuncture between the democratic ideal and its practical expression. Participatory practices and institutions, as exemplified in the participatory budgeting process of the local government of Porto Alegre in Brazil, claim to embody a more substantive version of democracy that can settle this deficit. This article interrogates this promise through examining closely the case of Porto Alegre. In addition to demonstrating clear democratic outcomes, this examination also reveals that the meaning of democratic deepening is not cashed out exclusively in terms of participation but in terms of representation too. More specifically, participatory budgeting serves to broaden representation in the budgeting process as a whole, by better including and amplifying the voice of marginalised groups in aspects of the budgeting process, albeit through participatory practices and events. On reflection this should not be surprising as participatory budgeting introduces new decision-making procedures that supplement rather than replace existing representative institutions, and reform rather than transform expenditure patterns. Thus although termed participatory, at the level of the municipal system as a whole, participatory institutions assist in better representing the interests of marginalised groups in decision-making through participatory means. Deepening democracy, therefore, at least as far as new participatory institutions are concerned, is about new forms of representation and participation, rather than replacing representation with participation.
2014-06-01T00:00:00ZEnforced informalisation: the case of liquor retailers in South Africa
http://hdl.handle.net/10566/919
Enforced informalisation: the case of liquor retailers in South Africa
Charman, Andrew; Petersen, Leif; Piper, Laurence
After a decade of unsuccessful efforts to migrate informal businesses to South Africa’s formal economy there remains little understanding of the dynamics in this sector, especially as regards micro-enterprises. International literature discusses ‘exit’ and ‘exclusion’, holding that poor law enforcement is the reason for the persistence and growth of the informal economy. Through examining the informal liquor retail (“shebeen”) sector, we demonstrate that enforcement actually produces informality in this sector. Illustrated with examples from one of our sites in Delft South, Cape Town, the article describes key aspects of shebeen business practice, including the responses to greater law enforcement. Notably, instead of closing shop or facing the hurdles of compliance, the great majority of shebeens continue to evade the law by downscaling their activities. This finding has implications, not just for liquor policy in South Africa, but for understanding both theories of formalisation and theories of the informal economy.
2013-01-01T00:00:00ZFaith-based organisations, local governance and citizenship in South Africa
http://hdl.handle.net/10566/602
Faith-based organisations, local governance and citizenship in South Africa
Piper, Laurence
2009-01-01T00:00:00Z