INTRODUCTION

How should community be defined, operationalised or programmed in relation to the pursuit of particular human rights? How should community make human rights more effective in their task of shaping the pursuit of development in normative terms? Is participation, so to speak, possible within existing communities, or how can such communities be rejuvenated or created into sustainable organisational and decision-making bodies? What sort of problems can be anticipated with the introduction of community participation in human rights discourse, and how can such problems be addressed? These are among the concerns that motivate the analysis within this chapter.

The aim of this chapter is to expand on the substantive aspects of the theory of community, which, it is argued, can enable individuals, particularly the poor, to take part in processes that determine their human rights. It outlines the philosophical, structural and procedural requirements for community participation. This is, after all, because the tangible aspects of participation can only succeed if the structural framework is clear and right from the outset. Community participation, as such, cannot succeed or precede philosophical and structural under-pinning. This is, in essence, what the theory of community outlined within this chapter seeks to achieve. In doing so, the chapter expands on the three comprehensive components of the theory of community, which include what community is, or what it ought to be, the actual spaces of participation, and thirdly, a theory of deliberation for community participation.