Civil Society Efforts Research Articles

SOCIAL FINANCE TAXONOMY IN TRANSITION TOWARDS A MORE SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY

The successful development of a sustainable economy and society in together with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG-2030) requires comprehensive and coordinated efforts of governments, businesses and civil society in order to establish unified and clear rules and regulations for economic activity. In order to reach this goal the European Union begun the development of EU sustainability taxonomy, which is to ensure an equal understanding of the content of activities of enterprises, projects and investments that meet sustainability criteria. So as to realize the potential of the market for social investments and loans, unification of approaches for understanding the main concepts of the social financing process is necessary. The purpose of the study is to develop proposals for the classification of subjects and objects of the subsystem of social finance consistent with sustainability taxonomy. The research applies methods of induction and deduction, scientific abstraction of theoretical generalization and comparative analysis while studying definitions, best practices of social investment and for developing the classification of social impact investments and social enterprises. The article provides coherent analysis of the formation of social entrepreneurship and finance in Ukraine. Based on the results of the study, the most relevant classification features of social enterprises and investments were developed and recommendations were made for integrating social finance taxonomy into sustainability taxonomy. The results of the research are of both theoretical and practical value.

«Post-truth» in Social Reality: Risks and Threats

In the current post-truth culture, the problem of reliable reflection of socio-political reality in the public consciousness is topical. Widespread dissemination of false, fake news is a threat to society and democracy. The term «post-truth» is ambiguously defined in scientific, journalistic circles, among politicians and public figures. The post-truth politics is reflected in the international arena, in conflicts between countries, as well as at the regional level in the battle for the votes. The post-truth culture spreads widely on the Internet, creating a non-alternative personalized «world of truth» for the user. Fake news is gradually becoming a source of concern for the authorities of many states, threatening their internal security and destabilizing international democratic order. Average citizen might hardly tell false information from truth. Information can undermine public trust of citizens and cause widespread protest activity against authorities and democratic values, discrediting both professional journalists, politicians, and the power structures. The fight against false sources of information in the electronic and digital field is gaining momentum. In order to prevent the spread of the post-truth culture, a number of countries have chosen a strategy for strengthening censorship and introducing control over information posted in various media. This way can lead to infringement on civic rights and freedoms, threat to democracy and emergence of authoritarian regimes. Another strategy is to consolidate efforts of civil society, state, means and sources of information dissemination and companies engaged in digital technologies. This – in sum – contributes to the fight against the post-truth culture.

Maternal health, human rights, and the politics of state accountability: Lessons from the Millennium Development Goals and implications for the Sustainable Development Goals

Some scholars emphasize the significance of using human rights to hold states accountable to their commitment to global development goals, such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the (renewed and expanded) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Yet, others contest the extent to which such commitments indicate legal obligations, are enforceable, and can be fulfilled by developing states. This article draws on key informant interviews conducted with state and civil society actors in India, to explore the politics of using human rights to frame state accountability for maternal health (MDG 5 and SDG 3.1). The findings reveal that constitutional and institutional design peculiarities and lack of corresponding domestic legislative reforms complicate discursive framing of state accountability for maternal health using human rights, despite state commitment to MDG 5 obligations in form of resource allocation and agency creation. Yet, they also reveal the incremental opportunities to frame state accountability—rooted in citizenship entitlement, rather than human rights norms—made possible through ingenious civil society efforts, which leverage public investment in welfare that stem from state commitment to the MDGs. The findings are consequential to debates over the SDGs, which also lack discursive emphasis on human rights but reflect stronger human rights practices and standards, especially in Goal 16.

Abstract SY03-01: Government and civil society efforts in global cancer control

Abstract SY03-01: Government and civil society efforts in global cancer control

Law & Entrepreneurship in Global Clinical Education

As clinical legal education (CLE) continues to evolve and prepare practice-ready lawyers, and governments worldwide focus on the multilayered impact of technology, automation and artificial intelligence, there is a pressing need to examine law and entrepreneurship through the lens of global clinical legal education. The range of issues include: corporate social responsibility, disruptive technologies, microbusiness, social entrepreneurship, social impact investing, the creative economy, sustainable local economies, cooperatives and shared work, and inclusive entrepreneurship. Indeed, new legal entities like benefit corporations and low profit limited liability companies (L3Cs) have emerged to address contemporary legal needs and in the United States. the notion of an entrepreneurial mindset is prominent. Many of today’s law students are Millennial generation, ages 18-34, while others are digital natives who have not known a world without technology. Business law clinics (BLCs), also referred to as transactional clinics, representing for profit, nonprofit or nongovernmental (NGOs) organizations and social enterprises aim to support the growth of entrepreneurial ecosystems while promoting social and economic justice. BLCs teach law students substantive law, practical skills and professional values. Indeed, BLCs with a social and economic justice perspective can help law students, the next generation of leaders, to develop critical analytic skills and insights into how entrepreneurship supports and sometimes hurts human rights and civil society efforts. Part one of this article examines the evolution of global CLE in western countries like the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and in Georgia and Croatia. Part two discusses a more recent phenomenon in CLE, the emergence of BLCs, which expand the clinical experience beyond the courtroom to the boardroom, and the differences and similarities between litigation and transactional legal clinics. Part three examines the rise in BLCs globally, and contains case studies of the global experience in transactional CLE with perspectives from Georgia, Croatia, Australia, Canada and the U.K. Part four considers the unique pedagogical and programmatic aspects of BLCs, such as redefining “practice-ready,” teaching Millennials, and collaboration as a lawyering skill. Part five reflects on the significance of BLCs now. In Part six the article concludes by looking to the future of BLCs in a global context. The article also includes an Appendix 1 with BLC Lawyering Competencies and Learning Outcomes and Appendix 2 with a Checklist for Starting or Re-Imagining a BLC.

Международный опыт патриотического воспитания подрастающего поколения

The article substantiates the need to combine the efforts of political institutions and civil society in the development of a unified approach to the implementation of Patriotic education in educational institutions. The author reveals the main aspects of the formation of patriotism in the younger generation of the USA and China, analyzes the role of «teacher» in this process, and also reveals the activities that are carried out by the state in this direction. The formation of patriotism in foreign countries is carried out according to the development of historical, cultural, moral, ideological and life values embodied in the motto: in the US — «Novus Ordo Seclorum» («New world order»), in China — «Serve the people!»

Transforming conflicts from the bottom-up? Reflections on civil society efforts to empower marginalized fishers in postwar Sri Lanka

We analyze the efforts of an international consortium of academics and activists to understand and address a transnational fisheries conflict in South Asia. The so-called REINCORPFISH project (2010–2016) focused on an asymmetrical conflict between trawler fishers from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu who frequently transgress into Sri Lankan waters and northern Sri Lankan fishers, whose livelihoods are affected by these intrusions as well as by a long history of civil war. Guided by notions of bottom-up governance and empowerment, the consortium engaged in action research focusing on three types of remedial activities: (a) facilitating dialogues between fishers from both countries, (b) supporting the creation of a unified fisher organization in northern Sri Lanka, and (c) engaging in an advocacy program promoting assistance for the northern Sri Lankan fishers. Although the consortium succeeded in creating widespread attention of the problem, we analyze how the project’s rationale of bottom-up governance was thoroughly challenged by divisive national and transboundary politics. The fisheries conflict intertwined with geopolitical power play, military bluster, and ethnic tension, as well as with governmental suspicion toward NGO activity of any kind, marginalized civil society and compromised its assumed role as an agent of change. We therefore demonstrate how supporting marginalized resource users through action research requires handling a multiplicity of coexisting conflicts (resource, ethnic, and geopolitical) and that studying or dealing with such conflicts in isolation is both conceptually and practically flawed.

Гражданское общество России и укрепление военной безопасности в эпоху противостояния цивилизаций

The purpose of the article is to consider some aspects of the problem of the influence of civil society on strengthening the country’s military security in the era of the civilizations’ confrontation. The state apparatus seeks to restrain the initiatives of civil society, sometimes doing it rashly. The activities of civil society itself in the field of ensuring of military security and strengthening patriotism are still unproductive due to its disunity and social amorphism. Effective symbiosis of the efforts of civil society and state authorities in the strengthening ofthe country’s military security requires balanced and reasonable steps on both sides. Therefore, patriotism acquires the status of a national idea, for only it can unite the ambiguous aspirations of state power and civil society.

A spectre in Germany: refugees, a ‘welcome culture’ and an ‘integration politics’

ABSTRACTThe German state permitted about one million refugees to enter Germany in 2015–2016, although many were subsequently denied refugee status. Germany adopted an ‘integration’ and ‘welcome’ politics, an important, if imperfect, model for a European refugee policy. The integration of refugees required the joint activity of state, of civil society, of the public sphere and of refugees themselves. Civil society initiated a vast amount of essential care work and solidarity with refugees pursued especially, but not only, by women, yet civil society and refugees had no say in refugee policies. German refugee policy and practice raised many normative issues, producing an intense and vigorous national debate about them, in which philosophers and theorists were active. Among the questions debated were whether Germany had accepted ‘too many’ refugees, the acceptability of the costs of the policy, the risks of harm to the least well off, the purported risks to safety, security and the social order and the purported threats to German culture. I first describe German state policies, practices and civil society efforts and then turn to normative debates. I discuss the limits of the German discourse and suggest how it needs to be expanded.

Ebola, question de confiance

An outbreak of Ebola occurred in 2014-2015 in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Two opposing hypotheses may be put forward to explain its decline in these countries. The first of which attributes this decline to authoritarian emergency action imposed on the populations. This comprised the opening of specialized centres to fight the epidemic, directing people suspected of being contaminated to travel to such centres, and taking charge of cremating the remains of the deceased victims of Ebola. This process was founded on the supposed weaknesses of the health systems in question and sought to offer a substitute for them. The second hypothesis suggests that the reduction of the number of Ebola cases in West Africa was due to the combined efforts of civil society and the local health services facing up to this new challenge. This explanation is based on the experience of the Democratic Republic of the Congo which has confronted seven epidemics of Ebola since 1976 and which privileged the mobilization of local capacities involving both the health services and the community. This last hypothesis is built on the appreciation of local strengths and strives to mobilize and facilitate such assets. What was the impact of such radically different approaches to managing the outbreak?

‘Turcos’ and ‘Chinos’ in El Salvador: orientalizing ethno-racialization and the transforming dynamics of national belonging

ABSTRACTIn the immediate aftermath of El Salvador’s civil war (1980–1992), there arose fresh attention to questions of national culture, history, and identity. Postwar official textbooks and museums emphasized mestizaje (defined here as the historical mixing of Spanish and Indigenous populations that accompanied the colonial experience). The discourse of mestizaje, based on an idealized vision of an integrated national population, not only eclipsed the ongoing presence of Indigenous populations, but also excluded other groups that make up El Salvador’s diversity. With a focus on Palestinian and Chinese migrations to El Salvador, this article juxtaposes their general absence from early official postwar representations of the nation and their vernacular identification as ‘turcos’ and ‘chinos’ – identifiers that Orientalize and racialize while conferring erroneous ideas about ethnic identity. I report on new civil society and state-led efforts that strive to valorize Indigenous, Palestinian, Chinese, and Afro-descendent identity in El Salvador, arguing that it signals a new dynamic in how national belonging is being defined.

Responding to Xenophobic Violence in Post-Apartheid South Africa: Barking Up the Wrong Tree?

This paper highlights the general failure to effectively respond to and prevent xenophobic violence in South Africa and offers critical reflections on reasons thereof. Drawing mainly on the evaluation of a number of anti-xenophobic programmes by government and civil society organisations, the paper argues that past and current interventions, instead of muzzling dogs that bite, have been rather barking up the wrong tree. National government and relevant local authorities have thus far either tended to ignore the problem or categorise violence against foreign nationals and other outsiders as normal crime with no need for more specific or more targeted interventions. Although well-intentioned, civil society efforts to foster peaceful cohabitation and tolerance through social dialogues and campaigns aimed at changing attitudes have also largely proven ineffective in reducing violence. There are many reasons why these interventions continue to fail. Chief among these reasons is the fact that interventions are not evidence-based and are not informed by a clear understanding of the drivers of the violence. Similarly, past and current responses and interventions are based on shaky foundations and untested theories of change. Indeed, by focussing almost exclusively on public attitudes, interventions neglect factors and motivations that trigger violent behaviour; perhaps ignoring that attitudes are not always a good predictor of behaviour. Without a clear understanding of the drivers of the violence and of what type of responses work or do not work, intervention strategies can only be ineffective at best, and counter-productive at worst.

We are the very model of a moderate Muslim state: The Amman Messages and Jordan’s foreign policy

Despite its significance to one of the most problematic discursive binaries of the ‘War on Terror’, moderation has been a largely taken for granted theoretical and empirical category in the discipline of International Relations. To prompt further conversation, this article examines ‘Islamic moderation’ as part of Middle Eastern states’ nation branding in the decade and half since 9/11, using Jordan as a case study. I argue that while Jordan’s official and state-endorsed civil society efforts to promote ‘moderate Islam’ and interfaith dialogue stem in part from authentic interest in promoting dialogue and peace, the Jordanian Hashemite regime has also used the Amman Messages to deepen political trust with the United States, attempting to instrumentalize the moral authority of religion as a form of state productive power. It has done so by playing on a myth of religious moderation which has resonated in both the Middle East and the West since 9/11.

The Struggle for Justice and Reconciliation in Post-Suharto Indonesia

What explains the failure of transitional justice and reconciliation measures in postauthoritarian Indonesia? One explanation is that domestic political elites have effectively stymied the efforts of civil society to implement global norms of transitional justice. However, as Indonesia has embraced a democratic and decentralized system of government, even the most corrupt and entrenched elites cannot merely veto or reject calls for justice. Instead, opponents have used a variety of strategies including legislative, religious, and cultural strategies to undermine justice initiatives. Examining the recent experiences in Indonesia, this paper shows the effects that a limited transition has had on the justice agenda.

The right to health, health systems development and public health policy challenges in Chad

BackgroundThere is increasing consensus that the right to health can provide ethical, policy and practical groundings for health systems development. The goals of the right to health are congruent with those of health systems development, which are about strengthening health promotion organizations and actions so as to improve public health. The poor shape and performance of health systems in Chad question the extent of realization of the right to health. Due to its comprehensiveness and inclusiveness, the right to health has the potential of being an organizational and a normative backbone for public health policy and practice. It can then be understood and studied as an integral component of health systems development.MethodThis paper uses a secondary data analysis of existing documents by the Ministry of Public Health, Institut National de la Statistique, des Etudes Economiques et Démographiques (INSEED), the Ministry of Economy and Agence Française de Cooperation to analyze critically the shape and performance of health systems in Chad based on key concepts and components of the right to health contained in article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and on General Comment 14.ResultsThe non-realization of the right to health, even in a consistently progressive manner, raises concerns about the political commitment of state officials to public health, about the justice of social institutions in ensuring social well-being and about individual and public values that shape decision-making processes. Social justice, democratic rule, transparency, accountability and subsidiarity are important groundings for ensuring community participation in public affairs and for monitoring the performance of public institutions.ConclusionThe normative ideals of health systems development are essentially democratic in nature and are rooted in human rights and in ethical principles of human dignity, equality, non-discrimination and social justice. These ideals are grounded in an integrated vision of society as a place for multi-level interactions, where government plays its role by equitably providing institutions and services that ensure people’s welfare. Inter-sectoral collaboration, which calls for a conceptual shift in health and public policy, can be instrumental in improving health systems through concerted efforts of various governmental institutions and civil society.

COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY AND CIVIL SOCIETY: OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH IN EGYPT AND LEBANON

Western theories and products, focused mostly on the individual level of analysis, inform psychology in Egypt and Lebanon. Psychologists in these nations have not yet played a significant role in addressing systemic community priorities, such as poverty and politically motivated violence. In the absence of community psychology, a vibrant network of civil society organizations has emerged to address urgent national concerns. We discuss and critique three types of civil society efforts that intersect with community psychology values and practice: community development, refugee services, and human rights advocacy. The emerging specialization of community psychology can address limitations of these fields and provide an alternative psychological perspective to community practice. This article examines how Egyptian and Lebanese community psychologies may transpire, including the roles community psychologists can play, values that may be integrated in this work, and considerations for formalizing training programs.

State and Society in China’s Environmental Politics

It is increasingly common to encounter headlines detailing China’s environmental woes and the social action that has appeared as a result. These headlines run side-by-side with stories of China’s continued economic growth and rise in global prominence. The fact that these two issues are connected is not lost on Chinese citizens or the Communist Party of China. The way these competing, though related, issues are addressed by state and society in China is of central concern to the country as well as to the global community. Though the topic of environmental degradation and social response has been previously explored by many academics in the context of China, the issue has gained a broader audience. The three books under review generally seek to reach this broader audience and to address key tensions in China’s environmental governance, providing insight into changes in state–society relations. There has been an opening of social space in China over the last twenty years, allowing for increased public activism related to environmental issues, at a scale unimaginable even thirty years ago. The nature of this space, however, and the political context in which it has emerged, are contentious. Judith Shapiro provides an overview of the broad spectrum of related issues involved in China’s Environmental Challenges, using a textbook format to introduce the key debates regarding environmental governance in China. Following her now seminal study Mao’s War Against Nature, Shapiro’s newest book draws on a historical view of environmental issues in the country; shifting

Beyond the Arab revolts: conceptualizing civil society in the Middle East and North Africa

How do we make sense of the potential role of civil society in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in bringing the region into a new era of reform and political participation? This article critically examines how the civil society landscape in the region has been conceptualized in the past and proposes a new typology of MENA civil society actors. I employ this typology in two cases – the revolutionary uprising in Egypt in 2011 and “evolutionary” long-term efforts to broaden the space for political participation in Lebanon. Comparing these two very different cases illustrates the utility of a typology of civil society actors (CSAs) that (a) emphasizes temporary coalitions between diverse actors; (b) highlights the both contentious and collaborative struggles through which political change actually happens; and (c) recognizes that different types of CSAs face different constraints and opportunities. I argue that employing such a typology can help structure comparison between disparate cases of civil society efforts for democratization and bring to the forefront issues of authenticity and legitimacy – challenges emanating not only from an oppressive state, but from within civil society itself.

Transnational Civil Society Activism and International Security Politics: From Landmines to Global Zero

AbstractEffective civil society activism in the high politics realm of international peace and security has not received sustained scholarly attention, and, at least until recently, was considered a ‘hard case,’ compared to other issue areas. This article reviews recent civil society efforts and assesses, in a preliminary fashion, some of the preconditions and constraints on transnational civil society activism in a range of security issues, from antipersonnel landmines to antinuclear campaigns. It concludes that high levels of policy uncertainty, the possibility of issue reframing, significant resources, and strategic partnerships are all key ingredients for effective civil society engagement. Conversely, vague or diffuse goals, the absence of state engagement, and policy stovepipes, all stand as obstacles to transnational activism.

Civil society and global copyright reform advocacy: incoherent frames as missed opportunities?

After almost a decade of civil society (CS) efforts aimed at reforming the global intellectual property (IP) system, this study examines whether the paucity in global copyright reform is a result of the failure by civil society to mobilise around an explicit or coherent frame. While previous episodes of global intellectual property rights (IPR) reform advocacy involving CS were effectively contested under a human rights frame, there have been less successful framing attempts in the space of copyright reform advocacy. Using semi-structured interviews with key civil society stakeholders involved in the reform of the global copyright system, the study explores possible explanations for this lapse in framing in copyright reform advocacy. It also questions the extent to which framing has been an intelligible lens through which to understand the success or failure of global IPR advocacy. It reveals that frame analysis does not comprehensively capture success or failure in global IPR policymaking. Lastly, the study looks at problems with civil society and what these mean for copyright reform and ultimately the future of the global IPR system.