Establishment Of Civil Society Research Articles

Determining the Concept of National Development in Iranian Newspapers: Exploring Reformism and Conservatism Periods

This paper aims to understand the concept of development in Iranian newspaper editorials during the presidency of Mohammad Khatami and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, known as reformism and conservatism periods, respectively. To this end, a quantitative content analysis of 440 editorials was carried out to investigate four dimensions of development. The findings indicated that the evolution of the development concept was varied in reformism and conservatism periods. The concept of development with indicators such as freedom of speech, dynamic communications with foreign states, and establishment of civil society were highlighted in the editorials of the press during the reformism period. Whereas, in the editorials during the conservatism period, the focus was on economic development and indicators such as targeted subsidy plans and reaching nuclear energy.

МІСЬКЕ САМОВРЯДУВАННЯ НАДДНІПРЯНСЬКОЇ УКРАЇНИ ОСТАННЬОЇ ЧВЕРТІ XVIII – ПОЧАТКУ XX СТОЛІТТЯ В ІСТОРІОГРАФІЧНОМУ ДИСКУРСІ ІМПЕРСЬКОЇ ДОБИ

The extent of scientific development of the history of municipal self-government in Dnipro Ukraine of the last quarter of the 18th – early 20th century has been analyzed. An essential condition for the establishment of civil society in Ukraine is effective local self-government. Municipal self-government plays a key role as one of its subjects in today's urban world. It has been determined that the historiography of this problem is represented by a considerable historiographic massif. During the imperial era, many scientific and popular educational works of local, reference and historical, and journalistic nature were accumulated. They presented the problems of the history of municipal self-government with different levels of completeness. It was found out that in the centre of attention of scientists, first of all historians and jurists, were various issues of history of creation, formation and activity of municipal self-government, reasons of changes of legislative acts concerning self-governing institutions, relations of municipal government with state authorities, the main of which were in the sphere of power distribution. It was found that a specific feature of the first chronological stage was the dominance of the formal legal approach and a constricted source base of research. That did not allow authors to go beyond comments and descriptions of legislative acts. A characteristic feature of the research approach of the authors of works on the history of municipal self-government of the second and third stages is, firstly, the predominance of legal and specific-historical approaches to the coverage of the topic. Secondly, there was certain ambiguity and fuzziness of conceptual and categorical apparatus which conditioned insufficient depth of theoretical analysis of the problem. At the same time, scholars of the imperial era laid a solid scientific foundation for the study of this institution by modern authors.

Factors in the Fight against Corruption in the Context of Civil Society and the Rule of Law

The research analyzes the main conditions by having which the state is able to fight against corruption. The preconditions and means of fight against corruption are determined; the results of their implementation in life are considered based on the examples of some countries, namely, availability of effective legislation, political will of the state, specialized bodies of fight against corruption, the establishment of civil society. It is noted that the fight against corruption is the management through a developed network of social institutions created on the basis of ‘participatory democracy’, that is, the interaction of personality, society and state on the principles of social partnership. This concept refers to a complex of political relations and technologies, which establishes public supervision over the activities of state authorities. At the same time, the latter requires a political will to fight against corruption, the legislative provision of this fight and the strict implementation of the adopted legislative acts. The main task for the civil society structures in the fight against corruption is the implementation of public participation in the process of preparing, discussing, adopting and monitoring the implementation of power decisions. Corruption as a systemic problem in Ukraine, demoralizing society, generates such a negative phenomenon of legal consciousness as legal nihilism in the social environment.

The Catholic Church and consolidation of democratic civil society in Spain

ABSTRACTThis article examines how the Catholic Church assisted the transition to democracy and consolidation of democratic civil society in Spain through a position of political neutrality. By abstaining from any active role in political parties, abandoning pretence of moral monopoly and embracing pluralism, it helped facilitate the establishment of civil society. Analytically, the path dependence mechanism, Huntington’s theory of democratization and the secularization of religion theory are used to explain the how the Spanish Catholic Church helped establish the bases of civil society in democratic Spain.

The Religious Life Harmony and the Nation’s Integrity in History View

In addition to a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, Indonesian people’s life is also multi-religion/beliefs. This plural living conditions is prone to conflict. Most conflict happened is often ridden by religious issues and sentiments. Such circumstances should not be avoided to maintain the national integration. Plural life should be maintained in order to realize the the harmony of life in a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-religious society.Therefore, the government issued UU Kerukunan Hidup Beragama (the Law on Religious Life Harmony) to achieve harmony in the society’s life. In addition, one alternative to consider is to develop a civil society that is the embodiment of the nation as the realization of developing a nation that is advanced in every sector of development. The establishment of civil society must be understood as an aspiration to realize the democratic and infependent modern nation among the hustle and bustle of the differences. An ideal civilization will be able to build a nation with significant progress. The perspective of civil society in Indonesia is simple, to build a fair, open, and democratic society upon the foundation of the Almighty God. Therefore, to be developed in this kind of life is the constructive pluralism, which can be developed through multicultural education.

The church is an active participant in the establishment of civil society (Maidan 2013-2014).

The direct immersion in the fateful event of the Maidan for Ukraine made it possible to keep a conscious mind on the pulse of its course while at the same time contributing to a critical understanding of its information display. In the title of our book, "Maidan and the Church: Chronicle of Events and Expert Evaluation" (K, 2014), there was fixed a problem core, on which we were trampled by all illustrative documents and expert assessments: the ownership of the Maidan (and it is an effective model of civil society that emerged in in response to modern Ukraine and in opposition to the rude attempts by the authorities to stop the historical and spiritual progress of the people, encapsulating Ukraine in the previous forms of life and consciousness) and the Church - a religious community formed in accordance with spiritual needs and requests from civil society and becomes an inalienable, equal subject.

The Paradigm Shift for Archives in the Information Society: From Keeper to Information Manager

As elsewhere, Lithuania is having to respond to the changing paradigm shift for archives. Lithuanian archives have already responded to major change following the downfall of the totalitarian regime and the establishment of civil society in the 1990s. The transition to democracy also facilitated a change of approach for archives services which were responding to new demands: the increasing demand for evidence; a huge rise in visitor numbers; poor records management; and lack of a legislative framework. Common global developments such as the growth of IT and requirements of accountability also had an impact at national level. The Archives Act, predicated on the right of access to information and giving a strong mandate to the national archives service to contribute to national information management, was the key factor in the transition from ‘keeper’ of archives to information manager while the new customer focus has resulted in the need for a change in mentality in many existing staff. Change is often pai...

In search of a public sphere: the fundamentalist challenge to civil society in Nigeria

Many polities in transition are undermined by what is commonly called a ‘deliberation deficit’, which means the absence from a given social formation of a common ethos that frames the debate on issues of general concern. In a sense, this scenario can be revealing, for it often highlights some of the nagging issues haunting the process of nation-building itself. This arguably is the case in Nigeria where, in November 2002, violence in the northern part of the country over the Miss World 2002 beauty pageant once again exposed the shallowness of the country’s political foundation, and the lack of a mutually defined ‘civil religion’. The argument has been advanced that the secularization of power is a precondition for the establishment of civil society and the nation-state. One implication of this theoretical postulate is that we cannot begin to imagine a secularized civil society or state in Nigeria in the face of the challenge by forces sworn to religious fundamentalism. In fact, if anything at all, the fundamentalist violence over the Miss World beauty pageant has only illustrated some of the basic contradictions in the Nigerian polity that many recent analyses have failed to apprehend. These include: the sharp dissonance in perceptions of public morality, the loss of confidence in the state as the bearer of a moral project, and the disputed nature of the secular framework itself. Using the Miss World affair as a contextual backdrop, Obadare puts these deeply interwoven themes in perspective, arguing that Islamic fundamentalism in Nigeria endangers a truly independent public sphere of critical deliberation constituted by equal citizens. He concludes by evaluating the prospects for democratic stability in Nigeria in the face of the resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism.

Vaikų ir jaunimo dalyvavimo akcijų Vokietijoje tikslų analizė

The goals of participation policy of youth and children is presented and analysed in the paper. The first goal is to create the opportunity for the children and youth to implement their civil right to establish themselves. The goal is derived from the idea of democracy. The second goal is to let the children and youth to participate in the establishment of civil society. Also it is important to create the ways to motivate the children and youth. The third goal is to utilise the expertise knowledge. The children and youth are experts in the knowledge of their living conditions. It is argued that the goals do not suit well to each other. The author is looking for the best trade offs.

10.1023/A:1024501102896

In the paper, I claim that substantive moral rights encompass a procedural right to have rights violations adjudicated by an impartial and independent judge. I elaborate on the principle that it is immoral for anyone to be judge in her own cause, which Hobbes enshrines as natural law 17 in Leviathan and Locke invokes to justify the establishment of civil society in his Second Treatise. I contend that Marshall's argument in Marbury v. Madison can be reconstructed as a logically impeccable argument. Furthermore, I argue that the judicial nullification of congressional acts cannot be considered undemocratic when democracy is understood as the political realization of (1) public deliberation, (2) equality, or (3) liberty. In fact, I underscore the deliberative potential of judicial review and I discuss a counterfactual liberty-based argument in favor of judicial review. Finally, I suggest that judicial review could well be in the hands of a jury elected at random among the whole citizenry, in which case judicial review would be even more egalitarian than a system of unlimited congressional powers.

Civil Society and Civil Organizations

Civil society is analysed from an organizational perspective. Many ideas about the quality of interaction in civil society are similar to ideas about how to create excellent organizations. Although there is no clear definition of civil society, it is first of all understood in contrast to the state. Organizational forms mentioned in connexion with civil society, such as voluntary associations, new social movements and networks, are analysed. None, however, has proved to be without restrictions inherent in all organizations. The quality of civil society cannot exceed the quality of its organizational forms. I conclude that the structures of civil society are not persistent. Civil society exists through the coincidence of several processes in the interaction between people and organizations, and the notion of civil society is not more incompatible with the state than with other organizational arrangements. On the other hand, there are no organizational forms to assure a permanent establishment of civil society.