Civil Society and the Political Imagination in Africa

Civil Society and the Political Imagination in Africa PDF

Author: John L. Comaroff

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 9780226114149

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The essays in this important new collection explore the diverse, unexpected, and controversial ways in which the idea of civil society has recently entered into populist politics and public debate throughout Africa. In a substantial introduction, anthropologists Jean and John Comaroff offer a critical theoretical analysis of the nature and deployment of the concept—and the current debates surrounding it. Building on this framework, the contributors investigate the "problem" of civil society across their regions of expertise, which cover the continent. Drawing creatively on one another's work, they examine the impact of colonial ideology, postcoloniality, and development practice on discourses of civility, the workings of everyday politics, the construction of new modes of selfhood, and the pursuit of moral community. Incisive and original, the book shows how struggles over civil society in Africa reveal much about larger historical forces in the post-Cold War era. It also makes a strong case for the contribution of historical anthropology to contemporary discourses on the rise of a "new world order."

The Politics of Civil Society Building

The Politics of Civil Society Building PDF

Author: Kees Biekart

Publisher:

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 428

ISBN-13:

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Strengthening civil society may be all the rage in the international donor community, but what does it mean in practice? This seminal work critically examines the political aspects of civil society building and the role of non-governmental development aid agencies during recent democratic transitions in Central America.

Civil Society and the Aid Industry

Civil Society and the Aid Industry PDF

Author: Alison Van Rooy

Publisher: Earthscan

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 9781853835537

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Northern governments and NGOs are increasingly convinced that civil society will enable people in developing countries to escape the poverty trap. A growing amount of resources are following. Yet how is this kind of assistance different from other modes of intervention? This volume presents in-depth case studies of projects in Peru, Kenya, Hungary and Sri Lanka and it gives detailed policy recommendations intended to improve the effectiveness and appropriateness of future projects.

Civil Society and Health

Civil Society and Health PDF

Author: Scott L. Greer

Publisher: World Health Organization

Published: 2017-11-20

Total Pages: 191

ISBN-13: 9289050438

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Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) can make a vital contribution to public health and health systems but harnessing their potential is complex in a Europe where government-CSO relations vary so profoundly. This study is intended to outline some of the challenges and assist policy-makers in furthering their understanding of the part CSOs can play in tandem and alongside government. To this end it analyses existing evidence and draws on a set of seven thematic chapters and six mini case studies. They examine experiences from Austria Bosnia-Herzegovina Belgium Cyprus Finland Germany Malta the Netherlands Poland the Russian Federation Slovenia Turkey and the European Union and make use of a single assessment framework to understand the diverse contexts in which CSOs operate. The evidence shows that CSOs are ubiquitous varied and beneficial and the topics covered in this study reflect such diversity of aims and means: anti-tobacco advocacy food banks refugee health HIV/AIDS prevention and cure and social partnership. CSOs make a substantial contribution to public health and health systems with regards to policy development service delivery and governance. This includes evidence provision advocacy mobilization consensus building provision of medical services and of services related to the social determinants of health standard setting self-regulation and fostering social partnership. However in order to engage successfully with CSOs governments do need to make use of adequate tools and create contexts conducive to collaboration. To guide policy-makers working with CSOs through such complications and help avoid some potential pitfalls the book outlines a practical framework for such collaboration. This suggests identifying key CSOs in a given area; clarifying why there should be engagement with civil society; being realistic as to what CSOs can or will achieve; and an understanding of how CSOs can be helped to deliver.

Building Civil Society in Authoritarian China

Building Civil Society in Authoritarian China PDF

Author: John W. Tai

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2014-08-28

Total Pages: 151

ISBN-13: 3319036653

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How is modern civil society created? There are few contemporary studies on this important question and when it is addressed, scholars tend to emphasize the institutional environment that facilitates a modern civil society. However, there is a need for a new perspective on this issue. Contemporary China, where a modern civil society remains in a nascent stage, offers a valuable site to seek new answers. Through a comparative analysis of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in today’s China, this study shows the importance of the human factor, notably the NGO leadership, in the establishment of a modern civil society. In particular, in recognition of the social nature of NGOs, this study engages in a comparative examination of Chinese NGO leaders’ state linkage, media connections and international ties in order to better understand how each factor contributes to effective NGOs.

The Rise of Global Civil Society

The Rise of Global Civil Society PDF

Author: Don Eberly

Publisher: ReadHowYouWant.com

Published: 2010-01-07

Total Pages: 570

ISBN-13: 1458762777

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Global news is generally bad news. On the surface, the story is about war, poverty, ethnic and sectarian strife. Democracy movements advanced by the U.S. government seem to be stalled or even reversed. Yet just below the surface, more hopeful trends are brewing. A new global awareness of the people at ''the bottom of the pyramid'' is summoning forth an unprecedented response to human need and suffering. It involves a shift from vertical to horizontal power that official aid agencies are only beginning to comprehend. Whereas twenty-five years ago government aid accounted for 70 percent of all American outflows, today 85 percent of all outflows of resources come from private individuals, businesses, religious congregations, universities, and immigrant communities. If aid policy in the twentieth century relied on top-down bureaucracy dominated by policy specialists and elites, the twenty-first century is shaping up as an era in which citizens, social entrepreneurs, and volunteers link up to solve problems. U.S. military and economic power are basic components of America's presence in the world; but in an environment of rampant anti-Americanism, it is compassion that is America's most consequential export. Civil society, once the distinctive characteristic of American democracy, is now advancing across the globe, carrying with it new forms of philanthropy, citizenship, and volunteerism. Tens of thousands of voluntary associations are prying open closed societies from within, solving problems in new ways, and forming the seedbed for a long-term cultivation of democratic norms. The Rise of Global Civil Society presents a sweeping overview of the forces now shaping the global debate, including citizen-led development projects, poverty reduction strategies that substitute opportunity for charity, and electronically linked movements to combat corruption and autocratic rule.

The Power of Civil Society in the Middle East and North Africa

The Power of Civil Society in the Middle East and North Africa PDF

Author: Ibrahim Natil

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-05-24

Total Pages: 239

ISBN-13: 0429560028

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This book investigates the power of civil society in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), in the context of the post-Arab Spring era, as well as more long-standing challenges and constraints in the region. In recent years, local civil society actors have faced significant challenges from social conservatism, conflict, violence, and the absence of democracy and exclusive political systems. Over the course of the book, the authors investigate how the sector has succeeded in achieving its own objectives despite these shifting conditions, the restrictive political environment and the complexity of the socio-cultural and economic context. Structured around the three themes of peace-building, development, and change, the book also addresses challenges faced by civil society organizations linked to ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversities as well as religious salient differences that are crucial markers of social and political identity. Case studies are drawn from the Palestinian Occupied Territories, Jordan, Iran, Nigeria, Niger, Egypt, and Morocco, and particular effort has been made to showcase original research from contributors who are from the region . This book will be of particular interest to researchers working on development, peace-building, conflict resolution, civil society, and politics within the MENA region.

Building a Community of Citizens

Building a Community of Citizens PDF

Author: Don E. Eberly

Publisher: University Press of America

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 428

ISBN-13: 9780819196149

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Sets forth and examines the challenge of restoring health to society and its democratic institutions.

Building Civil Society and Democracy in New Europe

Building Civil Society and Democracy in New Europe PDF

Author: Sven Eliaeson

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2009-03-26

Total Pages: 365

ISBN-13: 1443808962

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The European enlargement process culminating in 2004 was - as a follow-up to die Wende and the implosion of the Russian empire - an event of the same magnitude as 1815 and 1919. Like 1918-19, it was an “exit into history”, a momentous event in post-Westphalian Europe. Even if acceptance of ten new countries was premature, it was appropriate to the moment history provided. The presence of the “New kids on the block” meant both problems and prospects. The end of the cold war meant the fall of the iron curtain – but a mental remnant of the curtain remains, in terms of attitudes regarding civility, corruption, and transparency, and expectations for democratic politics. Several of the “new” countries are “late children of 1848”. For them, entering NATO was more important than joining the EU, and also preceded EU-membership. Poland is bigger than the other 2004 countries together and has a heavy historical legacy. It is - as Germany used to be - imprinted by its special path between East and West and fear of being encircled by enemies. Although the Building of Civil Society and Democracy in countries in transformation can draw on experiences from the countries already within the EU, there is no primrose path for EU-integration. It is, moreover, an irony that the new member states, as a result of the expectations for post-Communist politics, build institutions of a kind that are no longer sufficiently efficient for “old” Europe. The new countries became a full-scale experiment in rule by experts: now by neo-liberals instead of Communists. A common European public sphere and civil society might emerge, but its form remains visible only at the horizon.