Sovereignty, Democracy, and Global Civil Society PDF Download

Author: Elisabeth Jay Friedman
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791463345
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 240

View

Book Description
Examines the growing power of nongovernmental organizations by looking at UN World Conferences.

Author: T. Beichelt
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137291095
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 215

View

Book Description
With contributions from experts on democracy promotion, this volume examines civil society development and external civil society promotion in post-socialist Europe. It focuses on countries with a failed or deficient process of democratic consolidation looking at unintended consequences of external democracy promotion on civil society development.

Author: Peter Burnell
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135755108
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 294

View

Book Description
This title brings together competing theories of civil society with critical studies of the role of civil society in diverse situations and the way in which it has been promoted as the key to democratization. The combination of contemporary theory and practical applications provides valuable reading for students of civil society and contemporary social and political change, and its policy implications for Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.

Author: Abadir M. Ibrahim
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319183834
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 221

View

Book Description
This book tests many of the assumptions, hypotheses, and conclusions connected with the presumed role of civil society organizations in the democratization of African countries. Taking a comparative approach, it looks at countries that have successfully democratized, those that are stuck between progress and regression, those that have regressed into dictatorship, and those that are currently in transitional flux and evaluates what role, if any, civil society has played in each instance. The countries discussed—South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt and Tunisia—represent a diverse set of social and political circumstances and different levels of democratic achievement, providing a rich set of case studies. Each sample state also offers an internal comparison, as each has historically experienced different stages of democratization. Along the course of each case study, the book also considers the effect that other traditionally studied factors, such as culture, colonization, economic development and foreign aid, may have had on individual attempts at democratization. The first extensive work on civil society and democratization in Africa, the book adds new insights to the applicability of democratization theory in a non-Western context, both filling a gap in and adding to the existing universal scholarship. This book will be useful for scholars of political science, economics, sociology and African studies, as well as human rights activists and policy makers in the relevant geographical areas.

Author:
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134076762
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 211

View

Book Description

Author: Lars Trägårdh
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 0857457578
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 358

View

Book Description
Since the emergence of the dissident “parallel polis” in Eastern Europe, civil society has become a “new superpower,” influencing democratic transformations, human rights, and international co-operation; co-designing economic trends, security and defense; reshaping the information society; and generating new ideas on the environment, health, and the “good life.” This volume seeks to compare and reassess the role of civil society in the rich West, the poorer South, and the quickly expanding East in the context of the twenty-first century’s challenges. It presents a novel perspective on civic movements testing John Keane’s notion of “monitory democracy”: an emerging order of public scrutiny and monitoring of power.

Author: Darren Kew
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
ISBN: 0815653670
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 450

View

Book Description
African nations have watched the recent civic dramas of the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street asking if they too will see similar civil society actions in their own countries. Nigeria—Africa’s most populous nation—has long enjoyed one of the continent’s most vibrant civil society spheres, which has been instrumental in political change. Initially viewed as contributing to democracy’s development, however, civil society groups have come under increased scrutiny by scholars and policymakers. Do some civil society groups promote democracy more effectively than others? And if so, which ones, and why? By examining the structure, organizational cultures, and methods of more than one hundred Nigerian civil society groups, Kew finds that the groups that best promote democratic development externally are themselves internally democratic. Specifically, the internally democratic civil society groups build more sustainable coalitions to resist authoritarian rule; support and influence political parties more effectively; articulate and promote public interests in a more negotiable fashion; and, most importantly, inculcate democratic norms in their members, which in turn has important democratizing impacts on national political cultures and institutions. Further, internally democratic groups are better able to resolve ethnic differences and ethnic-based tensions than their undemocratically structured peers. This book is a deeply comprehensive account of Nigerian civil society groups in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Kew blends democratic theory with conflict resolution methodologies to argue that the manner in which groups—and states—manage internal conflicts provides an important gauge as to how democratic their political cultures are. The conclusions will allow donors and policymakers to make strategic decisions in their efforts to build a democratic society in Nigeria and other regions.

Author: Peter J. Burnell
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 9780714655895
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 300

View

Book Description
Featuring a broad range of perspectives on the democratic process, this collection of essays explores the development of civil society and how civil societies manage democratic change around the world.

Author: Gideon Baker
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134524064
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 202

View

Book Description
This book introduces radically alternative models of civil society that have been developed outside the liberal democratic frame of reference, models which suggest that civil society does offer new and non-statist democratic possibilities. Drawing on a wide range of civil society theory-practice from Eastern Europe and Latin America (including the Zapatistas in Mexico), and from visions of global civil society too, this book is uniquely positioned to consider the questions posed by these alternative voices for democratic theory and practice. * Are there alternatives to the liberal democratic vision of civil society? * Is a democracy located in civil society rather than the state either possible or desirable? * How and why has the concept of civil society come to be used so widely today? * Can global civil society further the struggle for democracy initiated by national civil societies?

Author: Isidro Morales
Publisher: SAGE Publications, Incorporated
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 286

View

Book Description
At the end of the Cold War, a renewed interest in civil society emerged. Today, civil society, trust, democratization, social capital, and volunteerism are a primary focus among the social sciences. The end of the Cold War meant such issues in the social sciences, neglected during many years of military confrontation, came back into prominence. Voluntary groups are being given large roles, and the state is being challenged by them. The search is on for ways to encourage democracy. Free trade and globalization are part of the equation, but much attention is being focused on the role of NGOs (non-governmental organizations). The claim is that without a healthy voluntary sector, the long-term survival of a democratic society is doubtful. Civil Society and Democratization, a special issue of THE ANNALS, features articles written by both domestic and international scholars on this ever growing area of discussion. Articles in this issue cover these important topics: · Debates on civil society both in the United States and abroad · Civil society and political elections · Religion and civic engagement · Civil society and volunteerism This special issue is a comprehensive discussion of how political confidence is built and eroded in a world that unimaginable only ten years ago. It is an indispensable guide to the problems of sustaining the gains made by democracy since the collapse of the Soviet Union and will be of great interest to academics and professionals concerned with processes of social change.