From self-government to Porto Alegre: A theoretical study

The thought of autonomy, which dates back to old times, was put into practice with Paris Commune. Formal mechanisms of representative democracy are inadequate in today's political systems and the necessity of increasing participation in decision-making process is being discussed. Citizens' demand to be arbiter in decision-making mechanism and its necessity gave birth to the execution of Participatory Budget in Porto Alegre. In this study, the roots and ideological development of autonomy are analyzed while Paris Commune and Porto Alegre experiences are also being discussed. In both Paris Commune, which is an example of autonomy, and Porto Alegre administration that is based on Soviet example, citizens participated in large numbers in the decision-making processes. However, with the thought that it is infeasible to maintain self-government in the existing capitalist world order, it has been concluded that the Participatory Budget executed in Porto Alegre is not an example of self-government, but an experience by which autonomy can be flourished. Key Words: Self-government, Porto Alegre, Participatory Budget, Paris Commune.