Including Civil Society Research Articles

Promoting Democratic Governance in the South

Arising from a survey of critical literature, three questions are posed concerning the linkage of development aid to the promotion of democratic governance. Is democracy promotion by Northern governments restricted to a narrow, procedural version? Is a ‘Western’ model of democracy imposed? Are programmes part of a wider neo‐liberal hegemonic project of global domination? Investigation is through a comparative examination of the political aid programmes of four official donors, the governments of Sweden, the UK and the US, plus the European Union. Analysis explores two main dimensions: the major recipient countries and the main beneficiary sectors to which political aid is directed. Findings are threefold. First, some emphasis on electoral assistance was confirmed, yet fairly substantial support was provided to other dimensions of democratic development, including civil society organisations, though the latter lacked focus and overall coherence. Second, each bilateral donor tends to promote and universalis...

Beyond post‐conflict peacebuilding: What links to sustainable development and human security?

The proliferation of peacekeeping and coalition operations in Africa over the last five to ten years poses profound challenges for analysis and praxis, explanation and prescription. This article is premised on the assumption that at least some of the causes of the social conflicts ‐ that have led to the growing demand for diverse elements in the peacekeeping nexus ‐ lie in the character and consequences of structural adjustment programmes. The seeming elusiveness of sustainable development and human security in Africa raises questions about prospects for the consolidation of either capitalism or democracy. Rather, varieties of corporatism, authoritarianism and anarchy are more likely to emerge in the next century. The central role of civil society ‐ at local, national, regional and global levels ‐ is crucial in determining which scenario is most plausible, given the heterogeneity in Africa's political economies and cultures. Hence the imperative of including civil society in any analytic and prescriptive ...

Las migraciones internacionales y la reorganización de los cuidados. Los casos de la República de Moldavia, Rumanía y Ucrania

En el contexto de los importantes flujos migratorios desde Europa del Este hacia Europa Meridional, en este artículo se presenta un estudio cualitativo realizado en Rumanía, la República de Moldavia y Ucrania en torno a la reorganización de los cuidados que se requieren para afrontar las repercusiones de la ausencia de personas cuidadoras, también conocida como «drenaje de cuidados». En particular, se analiza la reorganización de los cuidados destinados a los menores y a las personas mayores que se quedaron en los países de procedencia tomando en cuenta los cuatro pilares del sistema o polos del «diamante» de los cuidados, a saber: las familias transnacionales, el Estado, el tercer sector y el mercado. La perspectiva desde los países de origen, la comparación entre el sistema de cuidados infantil y el dirigido a los mayores, así como la inclusión del Estado y de la sociedad civil como proveedores de cuidados complementarios a los de las familias, ofrecen una visión más completa de las trasformaciones sociales generadas por la emigración masiva.