城市公共参与和社会问责——以广州市恩宁路改造为例

Civic Engagement and Social Accountability in the City:A Case Study of Enning Road Transformation in Guangzhou

"社会问责"是通过普通公民或者公民社会组织直接或者间接地参与来实施问责的方式,以公共参与推动社会问责是实现政治问责的有效途径。广州市恩宁路改造案例说明,虽然公共参与的机制仍未实现制度化和常规化,还未达致国家与社会协作式的公共参与状态,但是,公共议题的提出、广泛的社会支持网络的形成以及政府对公共参与的逐渐回应,推动了国家与社会相对良性的互动,从而较为有效地实现了社会问责。在当代城市公共生活中,这种以公共参与为基础的社会问责逐步成为可能,彰显了公民社会的力量,制约了国家的权力,是当代中国政治发展的重要组成部分。

Social Accountability brings accountability into force by direct or indirect civic engagement of ordinary citizen or civil society organization,which is an effective way to achieve political accountability.The paper tries to explore the way how the civic engagement promotes the social accountability in contemporary China by the case study of Enning Road transformation in Guangzhou city.In this case,the mechanisms of civic engagement has not yet institutionalized and routinized.The civic engagement is not a kind of state and society synergy.However,the public issue formation,extensive social support network,and the gradual response from the government,together promote the interaction between the state and society,and eventually achieve the social accountability to some extend.In the contemporary public life in the city,the social accountability based on the civic engagement become possible step by step,which manifest the force of civil society and restrain the power of the state.It is a important part of the political development in contemporary China.