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From Poverty to Power Green, Oxfam 2008 - weman

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2 POWER AND POLITICS I RULE, THEREFORE I AMThey are the collective manifestation of the human imagination, andoften surpass individual achievements in the extent <strong>to</strong> which theyhave transformed people’s lives. 150The inter-relationships between active citizenship, effective states,and democracy are complex and constantly evolving. Citizen capacitiesare often built through state action – providing access <strong>to</strong> education,health, and information, for example. And state institutions are built,shaped, and then re-shaped through the actions of citizens thusempowered. Formal democracy may enhance the voice and power ofcitizens, but this depends on the nature of the democratic process:it can also exclude poor and marginal communities, and produce asense of resignation, rather than empowerment.103

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