La mobilisation sociale dans un contexte de gouvernance au Québec et en Irlande : le rôle des organismes communautaires dans l'élaboration des politiques pour lutter contre la pauvreté

This dissertation concentrates on the role community organisations played between 1994 and 2002 in the development of anti-poverty policies in Québec and in Ireland. The elaboration of these policies took place within a context characterized by new forms of governance, that is new political arrangements designed to include non-governmental actors in the policy process. Indeed, since the 1980s and 1990s, community organizations have been called upon by their governments to take part in the delivery of social services and, in particular, in the development of anti-poverty policies. This comes at a time when governments are having difficulty addressing social inequalities. But despite greater inclusion of community organizations into the policy process, the extent of their role in social policy development remains difficult to ascertain. This is made all the more difficult on account of institutional differences, like those that exist between social partnerships in Ireland and cooperation-based initiatives (« la concertation ») in Québec. The objective of this dissertation is therefore to understand how new forms of governance shaped community organizations’ efforts to mobilize around the fight against poverty.  The hypothesis put forth in this dissertation is that collective action is shaped by the way in which community organizations compose with the uncertainty which characterizes new modes of governance. The theoretical framework focuses on the way in which actors interact in the course of the development of anti-poverty policies. These interactions are characterized by the formation of policy networks. Their cohesion depends on the extent to which actors coordinate their activities and also rally around a similar theme, like that of fighting against poverty and social exclusion. When a policy network is highly cohesive, it resembles an advocacy coalition. This happens when actors’ mobilization efforts take place within a less institutionalized process. Because such a process is marked by uncertainty, it becomes necessary for actors such as community organizations to form a coalition. However, with that uncertainty differences emerge over strategy within such a coalition. As a result, the formation of a coalition does not, in and of itself, guarantee a strong mobilization. Put simply, community organizations’ efforts depend on the way in which they interpret the new forms of governance in which they participate.  From a methodological standpoint, the choice to study Québec and Ireland on a comparative basis lies in the fact that although the two cases share strong similarities, they differ sharply when it comes to governance. Both are small open economies, have liberal welfare states and have, in the past, been characterized by the Catholic Church’s predominance in social services. However, these cases differ in terms of the role of the state, their electoral systems, their judicial and political status, the nature of their economies and the role of the community sector in public policy. Such a comparison renders it possible to better understand in what way actors’ strategies are related to the wider context in which they find themselves.  This dissertation has found that while social mobilization may, in the context of an institutionalized process, seem weak, it is more effective in enabling community organizations to exert influence in the development of anti-poverty policies. This was the case in Ireland. Indeed, while the social partnership process constrained community organizations in forming a coalition, it also enabled them to form ties with key civil servants. This gave community organizations the opportunity to tailor their demands in an effective manner. Such a margin of manoeuver did not exist for community organizations in Québec. Moreover, the need to form a coalition resulted in community organizations diverging over strategy. Their divergences stemmed from the uncertain form « la concertation » took in the development of Bill 112, the anti-poverty bill. While community organizations did form a coalition, the Collective to Eliminate Poverty, disagreements over strategy took over, thus weakening mobilization efforts.

Keyphrases: Governance, Québec, Québec, Ireland, Concertation, Cooperation-based initiatives, Social partnerships, Fight against poverty, Social exclusion, Community organizations, Welfare state, State-civil society relations