Understanding Local Participation Amidst Challenges: Evidence from Lebanon in the Global South

Scholars frame local participation as a continuum of tools, processes, and values, with outcomes primarily serving implementers
or beneficiaries. Donors have adopted participation in their policies and are asking local partners in the Global South to
implement participation in their work on the ground. Development management practitioners in the Global South have unique
understanding and practice of local participation. This article analyzes the status of local participation in Lebanon using
recent empirical data. We address Lebanese DM practitioners’ perceptions of participation. They relate that participation
is used in a limited way, as a tool at best. We also identify some of the underlying conditions: weak readiness and understanding;
lack of coordinated efforts; and rhetorical use of the participation paradigm. The form of participation changes as these
conditions change. We recommend modest expectations of citizen participation, investing efforts to develop organizational
readiness, enhance cross-sector coordination, and secure more serious donor engagement.