The powerful experts in city government were missing a key ingredient: the perspective of residents. Experts don’t always know how their policies might affect residents – directly or indirectly. If they don’t include more viewpoints, expert governors risk being seen as illegitimate. In turn, this could result in political instability and resistance.
AuthorRichard Meissner
Richard Meissner is an Associate Professor in International Politics at the University of South Africa (UNISA) teaching foreign policy analysis and peace, safety and security focusing on various topics such as civil and international conflict, democracy, ideology, party politics, environmental politics and a range of other issues related to International Relations and Political Science. His graduate studies were in both Political Studies and Philosophy at the universities of Johannesburg and Pretoria. He specialises in the analysis of international politics, political issues, and water governance related to but not limited to the complexities and interactions between and among non-state actors, international organisations, local governments, and other state organs. Prior to joining UNISA, he worked as a Senior Researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) researching water governance and politics.
He has published widely on these and other subjects with numerous publications to his name. These include peer-reviewed journal articles, books, book chapters, popular articles, technical reports as well as co-authored articles and book chapters. He has also presented papers at numerous local and international conferences, seminars, and workshops.
He holds a DPhil in International Politics from the University of Pretoria.