Dear all, My paper titled “Where is the State? How is the State? - Accessing Water and the State in Mumbai and Johannesburg” has appeared in the latest Special Issue on “Accessing the State” in the Journal of Asian and African Studies. I’d be happy to share a copy of the article with anyone who is interested in reading it.
Abstract: This article examines the water distribution systems in Johannesburg and Mumbai to argue that the political and institutional contexts of service delivery shape people’s access to the state and its resources, and also mediation between citizens and government institutions by councillors. Through ethnographies of water supply and distribution systems in Mumbai and Johannesburg, I explain how the organizational structure of the water utility, institutional arrangements of service delivery, regulatory systems, councillors’ proximity to decision makers and their relationship with municipal officials, civil servants and party members variously influence councillors’ mediation capacities and their ability to fulfil the claims of their constituencies for piped water supply and connections. Regards, Zainab -- Zainab Bawa Ph.D. Student and Independent Researcher http://writerruns.wordpress.com/ ... ambling along roads and courses, not knowing whether I am running towards a destination or whether the act of running is destination in itself
