Intersectoral Dialogue Table for a Defense Policy
The "Intersectoral Dialogue Table for a Defense Policy" was a participatory space created to evaluate the fulfillment of the Peace Agreements and draft a public policy of defense through the analysis and revision of Guatemala's Book of National Defense. This democratic innovation was born from the need to re-engage the Government with the civil society in security matters in the aftermath of the 36-years Civil War (and especially to engage governmental institutions with rural organizations). Indigenous leaders, representatives of labor unions and of peasant organizations were part of the deliberation of the public policy, which was the product of a political and social consensus with the private, governmental, and academic sectors, among others. This participatory initiative is part of a series of six intersectorial working groups created in 2002 during the Guatemala Consultative Group Meeting in Washington ? a meeting of national and international representatives who supported the process of national reconciliation. These dialogue tables were spaces for deliberation and consensus, which gave rise to public policies and initiatives that supported the implementation of the commitments of the Peace Accords.
Institutional design
Formalization: is the innovation embedded in the constitution or legislation, in an administrative act, or not formalized at all?
Frequency: how often does the innovation take place: only once, sporadically, or is it permanent or regular?
Mode of Selection of Participants: is the innovation open to all participants, access is restricted to some kind of condition, or both methods apply?
Type of participants: those who participate are individual citizens, civil society organizations, private stakeholders or a combination of those?
Decisiveness: does the innovation takes binding, non-binding or no decision at all?
Co-governance: is there involvement of the government in the process or not?
- Formalization
- only backed by a governmental program or policy
- Frequency
- regular
- Mode of selection of participants
- restricted
- Type of participants
- citizens civil society private stakeholders
- Decisiveness
- democratic innovation yields a non-binding decision
- Co-Governance
- yes
Means
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Ends
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