Civil Society Actors Research Articles

Hallowed Grounds

This article examines the identification and protection of the sacred natural sites (SNS) of Indigenous peoples, with a particular emphasis on a selection of cases where the Sámi people’s SNS have come under pressure in Sápmi. The article unpacks the origins and impact of the concept of SNS, from the international level to domestic decision making. A key concern of this investigation is how discourses on SNS have come to interact with and influence other issues of global governance, from environmental and biological diversity concerns and activism for cultural heritage to protective measures for the human rights of Indigenous peoples. Following this overview, the article discusses the extent to which the Norwegian authorities, commercial actors, and civil society activists have drawn on the international SNS discourse to formulate their claims in a series of cases concerning energy developments in Sápmi.

The parties of the parliamentary opposition in the elections to representative bodies of local self-government in 2024

The article is devoted to the analysis of the electoral results of opposition political parties in the local government elections, which took place in September 2024. Considering the opposition as the most important element of the modern political system, the author justifies the importance of the presence of opposition political parties at all levels of government. Based on the analysis of latest data of electoral statistics, it is shown that the possibilities of political competition at local elections are slightly higher than at the regional and federal levels. It can be explained by the lower interest of the regional political elite participating in municipal government, especially against the background of a decrease in the budget provision of local government and permanent reforms of the local government. Analyzing the reforms of local self-government the author comes to the conclusion about the gradual integration of local self-government bodies into the general vertical of power and to reproduce its dependence on federal and regional authorities. This, in turn, leads to a low level of trust in the LSG on the part of citizens. At the same time, parties at the local level are becoming important actors of civil society and the main participants in the electoral process, but less than half of the registered political parties are currently becoming participants. The author shows that the main beneficiary of the elections is the United Russia party, while the opposition parties are content to participate rather than win. A typology of opposition political parties is proposed, which is based on the activity of participation in election campaigns (the number of candidates nominated, the number of regions where parties participate, the number of mandates received after the distribution of votes).

HATE CRIMES AS A CULTURAL PHENOMENON: THE EXPERIENCE OF LATVIAN SOCIETY

Changes in the international situation during the last decades have become the reason for new conflicts and aggravations at the national level. The 2015 European migrant crisis (Refugee crisis), 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine have become a catalyst for increase in hate crimes. In order to recognize the criminal offense as a hate crime in the sense of the Latvian regulatory framework, it is necessary to establish two criteria: (a) the composition of the criminal offence is included in the Criminal Law; (b) a motive of hatred against a particular protected group of society can be stated in the criminal offence. It is the motive – hate or prejudice – that distinguishes hate crimes from other types of crimes.Prejudice is a negative assessment of a social group and its members. These are objectively unfounded assumptions and erroneous generalizations that, in the opinion of the offender, separate the representatives of this group from the rest of society. Persistent prejudices are called stereotypes. Unlike prejudice, stereotypes are not necessarily negative in nature. However, stereotypes are not based on objective truth either. It follows from court practice that hate crimes were directed against several groups of Latvian society: against ethnic groups (Latvians, Russians, Ukrainians, Jews, Gypsies or Roma, etc.), against representatives of various religious denominations, against asylum seekers, against people from other countries, against sexual minorities as well as against other groups. Stereotypes are often based on personal or negative cultural experiences of previous generations.In this context, it can be mentioned that it is specifically culture that is the basic factor according to which it is possible to understand, identify and reduce hate speech. Professor Aleksandrs Krugļevskis believed that with a change in cultural understanding, expanding public participation in cultural processes, the level of legal awareness will rise and tendencies, intentions to commit a criminal offense will disappear. Criminal law as a cultural factor creates a system that corresponds to the level of education and culture of the people. The above also corresponds to the vision of Latvia’s cohesive society policy “Guidelines for Cohesive and Active Civil Society 2021–2027”: mutual trust, participation, and cooperation between different social groups have improved among Latvian residents, and the level of tolerance has increased, stereotypes and prejudices against different social group representatives have decreased.Statistical data show that since the start of the war in Ukraine, the number of registered hate crimes in Latvia has increased. These show the relevance of the chosen topic. The authors of the article offer their vision of the problem of hate crimes, studying hate crimes as a cultural phenomenon, paying special attention to the experience of Latvian society in this area.

Sociocultural attitudes in the self-regulation of youth's ideas about the future

The article contains the results of the third stage of the study, revealing the stability and differentiating effect of habitus (mental and modern features of national character, life positions) and migration attitudes on defining the goals that are significant for the future of the country. Based on the comparative analysis of two-dimensional distributions using the χ² statistics, it was revealed that both habitus, ascending to mental traits (love of the fatherland, mercy and compassion, love of neighbor), traditional life positions (collectivism and selflessness), and habitus, genetically associated with modern traits of national character (the desire to defend human rights, openness to everything foreign), and an active life position are stable. Habitus with a traditional value basis sharply divides the expressed carriers of the attitude and those who deny its presence in their choice of goals. Traditional attitudes underlie the construction of a more definite subjective reality of the future than modern ones. The most obvious differentiating effect is recorded in the links between the attitude of love for the fatherland and the social significance of a strong family for the future of the country; love for one's neighbor, mercy and compassion, honor, dignity, selflessness and accessible qualified health care. The semantic content of these attitudes is converted into care for neighbors and empathy for those far away, mainly concerns the satisfaction of the vital needs of health and life. They are also joined by the modern attitude of defending human rights in relation to a comfortable living space as a parameter of the image of the future. The least stable in regulating ideas about the goals of the country's future were shown by the traditional attitude of suspicion towards foreigners and modern attitudes towards the country as a place of residence, demonstrative compassion, rational and pragmatic attitude towards others and individualism. In this case, unformed attitudes have a regulating effect, which explains their instability. The attitudes of young people towards emigration, compared to attitudes towards sedentarization and internal migration, are characterized by a devaluation of key socially significant goals and values (strong family, work, education), but greater support for an active civil society as the most complete expression of agency, the possibility of real influence on the political process and making political decisions.

CIVIL SOCIETY ENGAGEMENT IN REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA'S ACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS: IMPLICATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES

This paper explores the role and impact of civil society engagement in the Republic of Moldova's future accession negotiations to the European Union. Focusing on the intricate dynamics between governmental bodies and civil society actors, we investigate the implications of this engagement on the negotiation process and the subsequent integration into European frameworks. By analysing case studies and empirical data, we aim to shed light on the challenges, successes, and transformative potential of civil society participation in shaping the accession trajectory. Additionally, we discuss the broader implications of such engagement for democratization, governance, and societal development within the context of Republic of Moldova. The paper uses qualitative research strategy, with content analysis and study case, as research methods. It concludes with a reflection on the prospects and recommendations for fostering a more inclusive and effective collaboration between the government and civil society during accession negotiations. This research contributes to the ongoing discourse on the role of civil society in international relations and offers insights into the specific context of Moldova's accession journey.

“Build the New City as Fast as Possible”: Speculation as Subsistence in Peri‐Urban Myanmar

AbstractThis article examines an ambitious plan to construct a built‐from‐scratch new city outside Yangon, Myanmar and sheds light on the contradictory responses sparked by rapid urban expansion. Despite fears that this megaproject would threaten the region's way of life, hopes for the new city's construction remained high throughout the project's early phases. Residents of areas targeted for development went so far as to publicly demand the city be built “as fast as possible”. In this article, I highlight the gap between residents’ pro‐project enthusiasm and the expectations of civil society activists and development actors, who predicted locals would reject the planned new city. I argue that this divergence exposes the perceived limitations of solutions held out for populations facing de‐agrarianisation. Equally, it refocuses attention on how project‐affected populations envision their own post‐agrarian future. In doing so, I demonstrate how and why speculation on peri‐urban land has emerged as a compelling mode of subsistence for even the poor among the region's landowning class.

The Religious Leaders’ Perspectives on Corona Survey: Methods and Key Results

Religious leaders are highly influential actors in many societies across the globe. In the singular global crisis brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic, their perspective on the pandemic itself but also the post-pandemic future is of high relevance. Against this background, we conducted the Religious Leaders’ Perspectives on Corona Survey, a comprehensive survey of 1200 religious leaders globally, in 2020/2021. Its aim was to investigate the role of religious communities and religious leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article provides an in-depth outline and discussion of the survey methodology and the resultant dataset, thereby paving the way for future research using the survey data. Moreover, the first set of key results is highlighted. It emerges that the COVID-19 pandemic was not primarily a health crisis. Rather, in terms of its consequences, COVID-19 had the characteristics of a primarily economic crisis in the Global South and a primarily psychosocial crisis in the Global North. Moreover, the pandemic has had a fundamental impact on religious practice across the globe. This impact, however, seems to be highly unequal between the Global South and North. Religious communities are shown to have had an important role as civil society actors in the pandemic, providing both psychosocial and material support. Regarding the post-pandemic world, religious leaders envision a more equitable society and emphasize the need for environmental sustainability.

What do you mean 'Climate Change'? An analysis of climate change framings in three climate assemblies

How climate change is framed within CAs is critical for both the democratic legitimacy and transformative potential of CAs. Narrow technical frames can exclude valid perspectives and policy options and close down debate on broader systemic and potentially more transformative issues. Conversely, such ‘system-supporting’ framings may yield more specific and applicable policy recommendations, increasing the likelihood of implementation. In this study, we present a framework and approach to analyse framings in climate assemblies. We apply this framework to examine the evidence provided to a German, a UK and a Global citizen assembly. Our analysis suggests that despite differences in scale, remit and commissioning bodies, evidence in these three assemblies had a similar range of framings. General evidence most frequently incorporated frames related to safety, governance, and fairness. Although all assemblies incorporated some degree of system-challenging frames, many of them were used little. Topic-specific evidence on energy in both the German and UK assemblies almost exclusively used energy technologies frames, potentially at the expense of critical perspectives. Interestingly, we did not observe major differences in the amount of system-challenging frames used between the assemblies commissioned by civil society actors and those commissioned by parliament; however, we observed some differences in the way some frames were used. We propose that integrating system-challenging frames with actionable steps could enhance the transformative potential of future assemblies. Our framework can be used to study how the framing of evidence influences deliberations and outcomes and to assess assemblies’ claims to provide balanced information.

From Transport Development to Land Reclamation: Contested Spatio-Temporalities ⁠along Penang’s Littoral, Malaysia

“One island is enough” was written on a banner shaped like Penang Island, Malaysia, during a demonstration against the plan to create three artificial islands. The Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project, adopted by the local administration and developers, aims to finance the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP). This ambitious plan includes several components, such as monorail and light rapid transit lines. While land reclamation is not new in Penang, this mega-development project has faced unprecedented opposition from a wide range of actors. In dialogue with fishers and activists supporting the Penang Tolak Tambak (Penang Rejects Reclamation) campaign, and through the analysis of government documents, non-governmental reports, news articles, and social media, this paper traces how state, corporate, and civil society actors have shifted their focus from the PTMP to the PSR project. Thus far, scholarly literature on island environmental movements has focused on the right to the island and the right to nature, while claims related to the land-sea interfaces, which so clearly delineate island spatialities, have been somewhat neglected. By exploring the contested spatio-temporalities of this land reclamation project off the south coast of Penang, this paper expands the dialogue of the right to the island to include the right to the sea.

Implementation of the Third Mission of the University: case of Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences

On the example of the activities of the Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule des Mittelstands Bielefeld – FHM Bielefeld, Germany) as a key par­ticipant in the UNICOM project, the modern university’s implementation of its Third Mission – its fulfillment of its public purpose and observance of public responsibility – is considered. A comparative analysis of the four missions of a modern university was carried out, thanks to which the necessary relationship between them was re­vealed as an integral prerequisite for the successful functioning and development of a modern university. A modern university implements its Third Mission primar­ily in close interaction with communities and industrial communities – both local (primarily) and quite distant (additionally). At the same time, the university must find a balance between meeting the needs of different social groups, guided both by the principles of social responsibility and the interests of the university and these groups. FHM’s training concept is to be close to practice and compact in the transfer of knowledge. This concept is based on four essential characteristics: application-oriented, profiling, interdisciplinarity and internationalization. Four main organi­zations in the structure of FHM Bielefeld enforce the active networking of people, with the motivation and expertise to enable groundbreaking projects and solutions aimed to strengthen the innovation ecosystem of the city. Applied research and third mission are conceptualized in the steps of preconditions, activities, results and con­sequences. The third mission includes the implementation of a cooperation project with a civil society actor or the implementation of a continuing education program designed together with a company. The close interaction of universities with local communities is primarily aimed at ensuring the interests of university stakeholders from local civil society and should be based on academic virtues and values.

Gendering democracy: feminist parliamentary responses to opposition against gender equality

ABSTRACT Gendering democracy in parliaments faces a wave of active opposition against gender equality by far-right parties and anti-gender movements in Europe. In this adverse context, advancing gender equality policies relies on discourses and practices that address this opposition. What are the feminist parliamentary strategies to respond to anti-gender far-right opposition? This article studies feminist responses articulated in the Catalan parliament, the most gender-sensitive regional parliament is Spain, from the entry in 2021 of the far-right party Vox through interviews with members of Catalonia’s parliament and analysis of parliamentary debates. Whilst parliamentary groups and individuals respond through coalition-building, rule-making, knowledge production, and everyday pragmatic engagement with the far right, the Parliament as an institution appears less responsive. We identify new categories of responses, such as institutionalization of gender equality and protection and support. The gender-sensitive Catalan parliament shows how the disruptive impact of far-right anti-gender opposition on parliamentary democracy and equality goes beyond its small representation, by triggering polarization that jeopardizes parliamentary debates on gender equality and pushes them outside the parliament. Yet, the strength of the institutionalization of gender equality and alliances and the role of feminist civil society and critical actors equip the parliament to counter anti-gender opposition.

Navigating the pathway from collaborative governance to impacts under uncertainty: A theory of change for watershed visions

Collaborative governance is considered effective in environmental problem solving. However, it is not always successful in delivering benefits. In Finland, collaborative ‘watershed visions’ are gaining popularity as a way to advance holistic water management. Watershed visions bring the public, private, and civil society actors across sectors together to agree on a desired future for a river basin and to plan steps for achieving it. The capability of watershed visions to lead to positive environmental impacts is, however, highly uncertain. We applied a Theory of Change approach to conceptualize an outcome-oriented impact pathway for the watershed visions to enhance the understanding of their possibilities to achieve their desired long-term impacts. Using empirical material, we structured a watershed vision process into an impact pathway of nine phases necessary for achieving the desired future. From each phase, we identified assumptions suggesting why and under what conditions the impact pathway successfully works, risks to its realization, and key uncertainties inherent to the risks. Focusing on the uncertainties, we developed a tool for ex-ante, interim, and ex-post evaluation of the watershed visions. We suggest that a longitudinal Theory of Change is a useful tool for addressing change and managing uncertainty in any collaborative process with long-term aims, and that applying this tool can increase the success of collaborative governance.

A Front for ‘Humanity’ Greek and Greek Cypriot Orthodox Advocates Between Anti-colonialism, Self-determination and Enosis (1950–1960)

During the 1950s, the Greek Cypriot Archbishop Makarios was the first to associate political claims for the annexation of Cyprus to Greece (Enosis) with the international anti-colonial claims for self-determination. Makarios alleged that British authorities had violated human rights and pressurised the Greek government to back the Cypriot population. As soon as armed conflict broke out in 1955, Greek Orthodox prelates and civil society actors, led by Makarios, launched an international ‘illumination campaign’ to expose the British authorities. This article investigates the Greek-based human rights activism arising from within the Greek and Greek Cypriot Orthodox Church, with the parallel support of right-wing civil society advocates. It therefore aims to shed new light on British decolonisation through the lens of religious humanitarian networks that spread in the Global South, international church forums and international humanitarian organisations. The study contends that these advocates put forward their own irredentist version of a ‘conservative human rights revolution’. Moreover, the article shows how Greek humanitarian and child welfare organisations borrowed nationalist arguments from these activists. Ultimately, ecclesiastical lobbying for human rights impacted the outcome of Cyprus’ decolonisation, inheriting ethno-nationalist arguments against federalisation since the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus in August 1960.

How Effective Are Civil Society Promotion Laws? Mixed Patterns from 3 Mexican States

Abstract Policies constraining nonprofit and civil society activity have been documented in multiple countries. A less widespread phenomenon, but one that is also worth exploring, is the enactment of laws intended to promote civil society. What happens when laws are enacted to promote these organizations? How effective are these laws? Building on insights from the literature on nonprofit formation and organizational ecology, this paper adopts a quasi-experimental approach, to analyze the effect of passing a state-level law of Civil Society (CSO) sector promotion on the number of newly-constituted CSO organizations. Using data from Mexico, between 1990 and 2018, the paper uses the synthetic control method to examine this effect, separately, in 3 Mexican states, against a pool of 13 states which had not enacted a law of this kind during the period under study. The results show quite different effects across states, and point to the need of exploring in depth the policy process surrounding the passing of the law. These mixed patterns also call for further examination of the broader context where CSO laws take effect, and the incentives and disincentives local actors may perceive in the content of the laws.

Actor-specific adaptation objectives shape perceived roles and responsibilities: lessons from Mumbai’s flood risk reduction and general considerations

Adaptation efforts need to be advanced significantly, involving multiple actors and a diverse portfolio of options. Despite this being well established, there is little understanding of different actors’ perceptions of adaptation goals and their associated expectations regarding roles and responsibilities to achieve them. In this analysis, we seek to address this gap by elucidating the diverging viewpoints held by various actor groups concerning adaptation objectives, target beneficiaries, and the distribution of roles and responsibilities for adaptation. Here, we use the case study of flood risk in Mumbai, drawing upon qualitative interview data collected through key informant interviews with diverse stakeholders including state, civil society, and academic actors. Interviews revealed stark disparities between state and non-state actors, in particular on the objective of efficiency, largely emphasized by state actors for physical infrastructure measures. Other contested objectives included ecosystem protection and fairness for vulnerable populations. The findings showed consensus on the importance of planning. Non-state actors heavily debated the lack of planning and implementation of institutional changes and ecosystem-based measures. They called for a stronger role of the state in caretaking and fairness for vulnerable populations, mainly through deeper institutional changes. Overall, the findings point to the urgent need for understanding how actors navigate competing priorities, make trade-offs, and negotiate conflicting viewpoints on the distribution of roles and responsibilities. This paper makes an empirical and conceptual contribution to the debates on “social contracts” for adaptation, offering an operationalization of the concept and application to a real-world example through an actor lens.

Children’s Rights and Online Age Assurance Systems

Abstract Age assurance is a way to prevent children accessing content, products or services that are potentially harmful to them, ranging from gambling services or alcohol or tobacco or, increasingly, certain products and services online. Now that children’s lives are mediated by digital technologies, policymakers are deliberating over the legal, technical and practical challenges. These have been little examined from the perspective of children’s rights. By combining legal and social research methods, this article examines the legal requirements for age assurance in Europe, assesses compliance by companies and reveals the consequences for family life. In law and practice, we show that age assurance is often ineffective in protecting children from online risk of harm. Further, as currently implemented it risks children’s other rights – to non-discrimination, privacy, to be heard, and their civil rights and freedoms, and remedy. We identify promising directions for the use of age assurance in child online protection, focusing on European policy, regulators and civil society actors.

Reforming School Choice Systems to Reduce Segregation in Schools: A Comparative Political Economy Study of Education Reform in Belgium, Chile, and the Netherlands

ABSTRACT This study offers a comparative examination of desegregation policy reforms in Belgium, Chile, and the Netherlands, addressing equity reforms to universal school choice systems. Through an analysis of the reform trajectories, we explore the evolution of policies, the causal mechanisms of change, efforts to institutionalize policies, and the sources of resistance to reform. We then undertake a cross-national comparison to discern trends and confirm or disconfirm theorized causes. Policy strategies from each context included nondiscrimination policies, fiscal incentives, and eventually reform of admissions procedures. Causal mechanisms facilitating equity reforms included shifts in political context, grassroots mobilization, generated focusing events through scholarly work and reports of civil society and transnational actors, and effective framing. Oppositional forces from non-state school networks and middle-class/white parents emerged in each context, affecting reform design and the path to institutionalization, but were unable to block reforms. The resulting reforms in each context were the products of compromise that retreated from deeper structural changes, likely mitigating the effects of reforms on school-based segregation.

Urban services and the invisibility of local governments in Nigeria in a COVID-19 pandemic context

The Covid pandemic was expected to provide a catalyst for better service provision by governments in general and local governments in particular. However, the complexity of governance suggests that citizens’ expectations of performance of constitutionally assigned roles may not always meet the realities of state–state relations. This paper provides a nuanced example of the interplay between state–state relations, citizens’ expectations and state–society relations in a three-tiered multi-governance context. Using findings from a virtual focus group discussion and online survey conducted in the first-wave lockdown in Lagos, Nigeria, it is shown that existing state–state relations influenced the relegation of local governments in the Covid-19 response structure, while citizens’ expectations continually demanded their visibility in service provision, a role that community actors and civil society groups took up. It is argued that it is not enough for services (particularly in health emergencies) to be provided in local government areas and through local governments, but services provided by local governments provide the competency local governments need to partner with civil society and other actors, thereby strengthening their capacity to assume devolved roles.

Responsible Reporting for Frontier AI Development

Mitigating the risks from frontier AI systems requires up-to-date and reliable information about those systems. Organizations that develop and deploy frontier systems have significant access to such information. By reporting safety-critical information to actors in government, industry, and civil society, these organizations could improve visibility into new and emerging risks posed by frontier systems. Equipped with this information, developers could make better informed decisions on risk management, while policymakers could design more targeted and robust regulatory infrastructure. We outline the key features of responsible reporting and propose mechanisms for implementing them in practice.

Understanding the Politics of Food Regulation and Public Health: An Analysis of Codex Standard-Setting Processes on Food Labelling.

The importance of the international food regulatory system to global health, is often overlooked. There are calls to reform this system to promote healthy and sustainable food systems centred on the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), the United Nation's (UN's) standard-setting body. Yet this presents a significant political challenge, given Codex has historically prioritized food safety risks over wider harms to public health, and is dominated by powerful food exporting nations and industry groups with a primary interest in trade expansion. To better understand this challenge, we examine who participates and contests Codex standards, using the development of the new Guidelines on Front-of-pack Nutrition Labelling (FOPNL) as a case study. The study involved: (i) collecting Codex Committee on Food Labelling (CCFL) documents (2016-2023); (ii) identification, categorization, and enumeration of actors involved in the development of the Guidelines; and (iii) guided by a constructivist framework, analysis of how actors framed and contested key provisions of the Guidelines. Country representation was skewed towards high-income (47.9%). Member state delegations were dominated by non-health ministries (59.8%) and industry actors (16.1%). Industry actors comprised the large majority of observers (84.2%) and civil society actors representing public health interests the least (12.2%). Commercial actors used frames supporting positive FOPNL messages (eg, low in salt) opposing negative ones (eg, "high-in" sugar warnings) and called for product exemptions (eg, sports foods and baby foods). Public health actors used frames supporting simplified FOPNL to reduce consumer confusion, that hold up public health goals, and prevent inappropriate marketing. Participation in the Guidelines development process suggests stronger preferences for trade facilitation and commerce over public health. Ambitions to reform the international food regulatory system may require an examination of who participates and how to address this asymmetrical representation of interests. These results suggest the need to greatly strengthen public health representation at Codex.