Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Impact Of Decentralization And New Intergovernmental Relations On Public Service Delivery: A Comparative Analysis Of Colombia And Paraguay, Cristina A. Rodriguez-Acosta

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to examine the factors that have influenced political decentralization in Paraguay and Colombia and how the new intergovernmental relations that result in political, fiscal and policy decentralization impact local governments and their capacity to deliver public services. The research, building on institutional theory, places particular emphasis on trying to explain and understand how intergovernmental relations shape the decentralization—and effectiveness—of public service delivery to local and regional governments, particularly in the areas of health and education.

The research method is principally a path-dependent within-cases analysis. The analysis traces how the processes of decentralization evolved from …

Local Media Representations Of The Colombian Women’S Peace Movement La Ruta Pacífica De Las Mujeres, Elizabeth Anna Kersjes

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to analyze how the media in Colombia covers the events and campaigns of the pacifist women’s movement La Ruta Pacífica de las Mujeres. The movement was formed in 1996 to draw attention to violence against women and to call for a negotiated end to Colombia’s internal armed conflict through peaceful demonstrations. The study uses a series of semi-structured interviews with members of the movement and a content analysis of major print media stories about the movement to analyze press coverage and forms of representation. The analysis finds that large, powerful media outlets based …