Territorializing Democracy: Strategies of Popular Participation in Buenos Aires - Paperback

by Sam Halvorsen (Author)

Territorializing Democracy argues that the political control of space is key to understanding political participation in the city. Drawing on a decade of research in Buenos Aires, this book shows that participation is not simply a response to innovations in urban governance; it is a strategy rooted in the relational context of territory. Examining key sites of activism over recent years--campaigning for a people's park, upgrading an informal settlement, the "national-popular" movement of Kirchnerism, and struggles over urban redevelopment--the analysis contributes to pressing democratic debates around autonomy and self-management, populism and clientelism, and democratic innovation and "participatory articulations." Through the lens of space and geography, this book offers a relational analysis of popular participation, working between multiple neighborhoods and scales, across different struggles, and between the streets and political institutions, activists, and politicians. In doing so, Halvorsen proposes a dual understanding of the territorialization of democracy: a reflection of the changing political conditions shaping cities today and a tool for assessing how democratic practices emerge from specific, grounded struggles over space.

Author Biography

SAM HALVORSEN is a professor in human geography at Queen Mary University of London where he codirects the Center for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean. He is the editor of Latin American Geographies and has published widely in journals such as Progress in Human Geography, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographies, and the Annals of the American Association of Geographers. Halvorsen currently leads a major research project across seven countries: Participation in the City: How Urban Participatory Innovations Are Reshaping Democracy, Governance, and Trust (PAR-CITY). He lives in London.