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Citizens’ Political Knowledge and the State of Local Governance Interest Determination in Uganda

Received: 28 December 2021     Accepted: 22 January 2022     Published: 9 February 2022
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Abstract

The state of citizens’ political knowledge in shaping local governance interest formulation patterns has been identified as a vital mechanism in democratic systems for centuries. Nevertheless, political knowledge proficiencies remain remarkably scanty among ordinary citizens in the developing world, with significantly few studies directly engaging this local governance reality. The paper discusses how political knowledge influences the changing local interest determination dynamics to reinforce local governance functionality in Uganda. From a sample size of 99 respondents, the study used descriptive qualitative methods and techniques to collect data and analyze the responses. The study found out that notwithstanding institutional inconsistencies, local farmers were considerably more influential in local interest determination compared to politically erudite citizen groups. There were limited structures for citizen participation in decision-making processes, yet likewise found nascent progressive virtual platforms for local interests’ deliberations mostly based on digital and traditional media platforms. The nature of drivers which framed political knowledge were typically influenced by structural, political, economic and international dynamics. The study recommended that in order to address the local citizen participation constraints, profound local governance policy transformation interventions should be embarked on to reinforce local infrastructure, the local economy and expansion of education and the democratic space for civil society agencies’ operations.

Published in Journal of Public Policy and Administration (Volume 6, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.jppa.20220601.13
Page(s) 12-21
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Citizens’ Political Knowledge, Political Awareness, Local Governance Interests, Interest Determination, Political Knowledge Drivers

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  • APA Style

    John Mary Kanyamurwa, Joseph Okeyo Obosi. (2022). Citizens’ Political Knowledge and the State of Local Governance Interest Determination in Uganda. Journal of Public Policy and Administration, 6(1), 12-21. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jppa.20220601.13

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    John Mary Kanyamurwa; Joseph Okeyo Obosi. Citizens’ Political Knowledge and the State of Local Governance Interest Determination in Uganda. J. Public Policy Adm. 2022, 6(1), 12-21. doi: 10.11648/j.jppa.20220601.13

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    AMA Style

    John Mary Kanyamurwa, Joseph Okeyo Obosi. Citizens’ Political Knowledge and the State of Local Governance Interest Determination in Uganda. J Public Policy Adm. 2022;6(1):12-21. doi: 10.11648/j.jppa.20220601.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.jppa.20220601.13,
      author = {John Mary Kanyamurwa and Joseph Okeyo Obosi},
      title = {Citizens’ Political Knowledge and the State of Local Governance Interest Determination in Uganda},
      journal = {Journal of Public Policy and Administration},
      volume = {6},
      number = {1},
      pages = {12-21},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jppa.20220601.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jppa.20220601.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jppa.20220601.13},
      abstract = {The state of citizens’ political knowledge in shaping local governance interest formulation patterns has been identified as a vital mechanism in democratic systems for centuries. Nevertheless, political knowledge proficiencies remain remarkably scanty among ordinary citizens in the developing world, with significantly few studies directly engaging this local governance reality. The paper discusses how political knowledge influences the changing local interest determination dynamics to reinforce local governance functionality in Uganda. From a sample size of 99 respondents, the study used descriptive qualitative methods and techniques to collect data and analyze the responses. The study found out that notwithstanding institutional inconsistencies, local farmers were considerably more influential in local interest determination compared to politically erudite citizen groups. There were limited structures for citizen participation in decision-making processes, yet likewise found nascent progressive virtual platforms for local interests’ deliberations mostly based on digital and traditional media platforms. The nature of drivers which framed political knowledge were typically influenced by structural, political, economic and international dynamics. The study recommended that in order to address the local citizen participation constraints, profound local governance policy transformation interventions should be embarked on to reinforce local infrastructure, the local economy and expansion of education and the democratic space for civil society agencies’ operations.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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    AB  - The state of citizens’ political knowledge in shaping local governance interest formulation patterns has been identified as a vital mechanism in democratic systems for centuries. Nevertheless, political knowledge proficiencies remain remarkably scanty among ordinary citizens in the developing world, with significantly few studies directly engaging this local governance reality. The paper discusses how political knowledge influences the changing local interest determination dynamics to reinforce local governance functionality in Uganda. From a sample size of 99 respondents, the study used descriptive qualitative methods and techniques to collect data and analyze the responses. The study found out that notwithstanding institutional inconsistencies, local farmers were considerably more influential in local interest determination compared to politically erudite citizen groups. There were limited structures for citizen participation in decision-making processes, yet likewise found nascent progressive virtual platforms for local interests’ deliberations mostly based on digital and traditional media platforms. The nature of drivers which framed political knowledge were typically influenced by structural, political, economic and international dynamics. The study recommended that in order to address the local citizen participation constraints, profound local governance policy transformation interventions should be embarked on to reinforce local infrastructure, the local economy and expansion of education and the democratic space for civil society agencies’ operations.
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Author Information
  • Department of Political Science & Public Administration, Kyambogo University, Kampala, Uganda

  • Department of Political Science & Public Administration, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya

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