The Politics of Service Delivery in the Social Sector

We propose a workshop on The politics of service delivery in the social sector coorganised by the National Law School of India University, Bangalore and the International Institute of Social Sciences (part of Erasmus University Rotterdam), The Hague. The workshop will involve case presentations from different social sectors in countries where democracy is more or less established (e.g. India, The Netherlands), and contexts where democracy is emerging (in particular, Arab countries). Using these widely different contexts, the aim is to develop a theoretical frame to understand the politics of service delivery on which further empirical research could be built. Tentatively, three types of politics are visualized: politics in service delivery, politics for service delivery and the production of politics as a feedback effect. The existing works on service delivery miss the element of human rights. Apart from several academic outputs, the workshop organisers expect that workshop findings and subsequent research would strengthen the administrative resilience to achieve the goals of the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Sixteen workshop participants have been identified with significant and relevant expertise. The workshop will be held at the International Institute of Social Sciences, The Hague during the month of June, 2014.