April 19, 2001 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Self-Governance in Communities and Families
by Gary M. Nelson
The author of this new book defines self-governance as the decision-making process through which communities and families exercise authority and control over themselves. Learning about self-governance can help social activists and nonprofit groups work more efficiently with government to promote social change, the author writes.
“Self-governance and learning and creative responses to change are best taught by matching words with behavior and leading by example,” writes Gary M. Nelson, associate director of the Jordan Institute for Families at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “It may be that one of the biggest barriers to effective social action is no longer them but us.”
“Us” includes the many parties working for social change—academics, administrators, citizens, policy analysts, and others—who say they believe in progressive values but do not always back up their beliefs through their actions, the author says.
To break down barriers, Mr. Nelson explains, citizens must forge partnerships with officials in government and social institutions. Those relationships will require all parties to engage in self-evaluations and frank conversations about how “we, individually and collectively, must change so that communities and families can do better,” Mr. Nelson writes.
This book seeks to help people establish those types of relationships for the betterment of social institutions and the people they serve.
Section One, “The Opening Up of Our Social Institutions,” explains the idea of self-governance and discusses the failure of current social models to solve societal problems. It includes a chapter about the importance of communication in creating strong partnerships for families. The second section, “Community Dialogues,” provides practical advice about how to initiate conversations with officials. The third section, “Democratizing Governance and Management,” offers tips for continuing and deepening the conversation in ways that lead to significant change.
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 450 Sansome Street, Suite 1200, San Francisco, Calif. 94111-3320; (415) 288-0260; fax (415) 362-2512; http://www.bkconnection.com; 219 pages; $24.95; I.S.B.N. 1-57675-086-8.
