Non-governmental Actors Research Articles

Embedding voices of under-served communities in Health Research Priority Setting in Thailand

Health research is needed to develop new treatments, diagnostic methods and prevention strategies for many diseases, but resources are limited particularly in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Our proposed project involves in-depth engagement with community advisory boards and existing community groups in healthcare research priority setting in Thailand. We will use Wellcome’s “Responsive Dialogues” engagement approach, focusing on “underserved” groups, as their voices are seldom heard in healthcare research priority setting. We estimate that we will engage with 6–8 community groups involving 48–80 participants. Our objectives are firstly, to contribute to the health research agenda setting in Thailand for government, non-governmental actors, academia, and others who conduct health research in the next 5 to 10 years. Secondly, we aim to identify ethical and practical issues related to healthcare research priority setting, specifically in relation to involving under-served communities.

Networks between Ireland and the Irish American Diaspora during the Northern Ireland Peace Process

Abstract This article explores the complex relationship between the network of actors in the United States and Ireland who sought to influence American foreign policy in the Northern Ireland peace process. These networks operated in civil society, representing numerous Irish American organizations linking corporate and church leaders and the media to members of the Irish American diaspora in government to influence the United States’ diplomacy. These Irish American groups and individuals interested in influencing events in Northern Ireland were linked with a wide array of governmental and non-governmental actors in Ireland. Often, Americans were quite deferential to leaders and groups in Ireland and Northern Ireland who sought to mobilize the Irish diaspora in the United States for their cause. Thus, the United States’ role in Ireland and Northern Ireland was not that of a hegemonic power but one of an empathetic actor responding to developments and cues provided by various actors in the Irish context. Transatlantic networking, made more possible due to technological changes in communication and transportation, facilitated increased exchanges of ideas, agents, and information. These networks allowed groups across the Atlantic to elicit support for local groups in Northern Ireland and mobilize the US government to play a political and diplomatic role in the conflict and peace process. Ultimately, the majority of Irish Americans moved from supporting the nationalist/republican side in the early years of the Troubles to becoming strong supporters of the peace process in the 1990s.

Translating disaster resilience: How values, world views and politics complicate interpretation and implementation

Globalized climate change and ecological collapse discourses have created a universally relatable conceptual arena within which institutional actors’ debate, design and implement interventions to create ‘disaster resilient cities’ in the Global South. The implications of resilience ideologies and practices adopted from the Global North can have detrimental and counterproductive effects when translated into interventions in postcolonial countries like Pakistan. In this research paper, we use interviews and discourse analysis to underscore the techniques, rationalities, and framings mobilized by governmental and non-governmental actors in the name of ‘reducing risks’ and building ‘disaster resilience’. Within this arena, Pakistani institutional actors create, mimic, and adapt normative resilience trajectories influenced by international resilience standards that do not align, or worse, conflict with the spiritual, cultural, and postcolonial contexts and values of communities they engage with. Imposition of international resilience standards may result in disconnected top-down interventions that overlook the vulnerabilities of local communities deemed as ‘beneficiaries’ and misallocate funds in favor of ineffective projects and programmes, ultimately missing opportunities for meaningful change. While building upon existing urban resilience efforts in Pakistan is important, it is critical to recognize that merely pursuing resilience as an outcome is not enough. Fulfilling basic needs should take precedence over resilience efforts, particularly when the goal is not only the survival of local communities in the face of escalating climate and disaster risks but also their overall well-being.

Characteristics and Emerging Trends in International City Negotiations

The article examines key features, main directions, and current trends in international negotiations between subnational territorial units using the example of cities. In today’s world, where the global political system is undergoing epochal change, the international activities of non-governmental and subnational actors, including their participation in international negotiations, have intensified. One of the key features of international city negotiations is that they occur mainly in a multilevel and multilateral format. This is due to the hybrid nature of cities, which are both state and non-state entities. The balance of power between cities and states in international relations depends on factors such as the degree of autonomy granted to sub-national units by the central government, as well as the level of economic and political influence held by cities. Sometimes, the position of a city may differ significantly from that of the state it belongs to. At the international level, there are several specialized institutions and mechanisms that allow cities to coordinate their positions and develop common approaches. These include the World Association of United Cities and Local Authorities, the World Assembly of Local and Regional Authorities, and the Metropolis Association. The main topics of today’s multilateral negotiations between cities include combating climate change, ensuring protection from natural disasters, promoting the rights of migrants and other displaced people, and fostering innovation in urban environment and governance. In contrast, bilateral negotiations between cities, based on the institution of sister cities, focus more on the humanitarian, scientific, educational, and cultural spheres of cooperation. Finally, current trends in international city negotiations include the increasing use of digital technologies and the geographical reorientation of Russian cities’ partnerships towards the countries of the “global majority.”

Evaluating mangrove community forestry outcomes: a mixed synthetic control and field-based approach

Abstract Contemporary evaluations of outcomes in human-managed systems have been constrained by a lack of counterfactual analysis. Community forestry (CF), a widely adopted strategy to achieve both conservation and management in coupled human-environment systems, is no exception, and counterfactual analysis would greatly enhance CF research. We used a mixed method approach incorporating quantification of deforestation and forest regrowth rates, synthetic control analysis, and focus groups discussions to evaluate mangrove CF outcomes in the Ayeyarwady Delta, Myanmar, from to 1990–2021. CF resulted in an overall increase in net forest gain and reduction in net forest loss across sites. More than two-thirds of CF sites had superior outcomes relative to synthetic controls for at least one metric (deforestation or forest regrowth); however, CF tended to perform better for only one outcome while avoiding underperformance in the other. The annual rate of forest regrowth in CFs accelerated beginning three years prior to certification and peaked two years after certification, likely related to pre-certification engagement with the Forest Department or non-government organizations. Moreover, control sites near CFs experienced more rapid forest regrowth than controls further from CFs, suggesting spillover effects. The predominant challenge facing successful CF management was illegal extraction and overharvesting, and poor performing CFs experienced a complex array of challenges facing forest regrowth, likely related to the private nature of individual land claims within the CFs. Most supporting factors for CF were related to community management capacity, strongly indicating a need for extended close engagement with competent government and non-government actors to develop long-term management and governance capacities, which are sustainably funded. Our mixed-method approach can be replicated in other human-managed systems to evaluate the biophysical impacts of policies and gain insights into the underlying drivers of outcomes.

Mitigating the Political Cost of Financial Crisis with Blame Avoidance Discourse: The Case of Turkey

How do centralized governments mitigate the political cost of severe financial crises? The economic voting scholarship has established that the clarity of responsibility, i.e., government accountability for economic conditions to the mass public, is a necessity for electoral reward or punishment for economic performance. On the one hand, political centralization, which reduces the number of veto players, may increase the visibility of the role of the executive in policy success or failure. On the other hand, it allows an uncontested blame avoidance discourse, especially when accompanied with democratic backsliding. Furthermore, the recent backlash against globalization has enabled blame shifting to international actors in many countries. Against this theoretical framework, we comparatively analyze the responsibility attribution discourses for the 1994, 2001, and 2018-2022 financial crises in the statements of incumbent presidents, ministers, and parliament members of Turkey. We find that while blame avoidance discursive strategies have been attempted in all three cases, the responsibility attribution for the 1994 and 2001 crises mostly targeted the executive. In contrast, for the ongoing crisis, the responsibility discourse is dominated with blaming international political economy factors, creating ambiguity, and targeting domestic non-governmental actors.

Monitoring and assessment in the context of governance of nature-based solutions. Shared challenges and opportunities in CELAC and EU cities

The concept of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) has gained interest as an approach to make significant contributions to the transformation towards more liveable, sustainable, and climate-resilient cities. However, the uptake of NbS into urban development practice is hindered by knowledge and governance barriers. Knowledge plays an essential role in evidence-based decision-making processes and in building the capacity to co-design sustainable pathways. In turn, governance processes can greatly support the acquisition, dissemination and application of knowledge. However, little is known about how these interactions between governance and knowledge manifest in practice. Therefore, we aim to understand the interplay between governance and monitoring & assessment (M&A) and the associated challenges and opportunities for NbS implementation in European and Latin American cities. Considering different socio-economic and cultural contexts allows us to draw from a wider range of practitioners’ experiences in different governance settings. We conducted an explorative qualitative content analysis on ten semi-structured expert interviews with thirteen city experts from local governments and academia based in seven cities: Bogota (CO), Buenos Aires (AR), Santiago (CL), São Paulo (BR), Barcelona (ES), Lisbon (PT) and Turin (IT). Our findings show that M&A provides agency for individual, institutional actors to steer political commitment and can support integrated working. The potential of collaborative M&A with non-governmental actors is still largely untapped, which requires acknowledgement of the capacities of non-governmental actors to contribute to M&A and raise awareness of the value of M&A to civil society. Furthermore, we recommend integrating more reflective learning opportunities in M&A processes, paying more attention to data sharing, and considering of more feasible M&A processes.

Changes in Crisis Diplomacy in the 21st Century

This article explores the transformation of crisis diplomacy in the 21st century and reflects on the evolution of crisis diplomacy from primarily focusing on national and international conflicts to encompassing broader global crises such as climate change, public health, and technological interference. The discussion revolves around three main themes: the increasingly complex global crisis that transcends borders, the increasing influence of non-governmental actors in shaping diplomatic participation, and the impact of the rapid development of information technology on diplomatic practice. The paper emphasizes how traditional diplomatic methods can be adjusted to address the interdependence and multifaceted nature of modern crises, which require international cooperation efforts and innovative diplomatic strategies. Analyze and draw on historical examples, compare past diplomatic methods with contemporary approaches that integrate non-state actors and digital platforms, and emphasize the need to expand diplomatic scope in today's interdependent global environment.

Strategic transparency under authoritarian environmentalism: information disclosure and the role of environmental NGOs in China’s national emission trading scheme

ABSTRACT Transparency in carbon markets is considered critical to ensure market effectiveness and public accountability. Low levels of transparency and lack of participation of non-governmental actors are persistent criticisms of Chinese (pilot) emission trading systems. Building on debates around authoritarian environmentalism and China's role therein, this article analyses transparency, manifested as information disclosure, in China's national carbon emission trading scheme (C-ETS) – the largest carbon emission market worldwide. Using expert interviews and content analysis, the article outlines practices of C-ETS information disclosure and discusses its characteristics in the context of China’s environmental governance. Key findings include discrepancies both between central and provincial governments related to information disclosure, and between different provincial governments. And while most industry actors lack interest and capacity to engage in C-ETS disclosure, environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs), by contrast, are significantly more involved in the policy process and information disclosure, often as ‘eco-elites’. Overall, this reveals that international and domestic ENGOs retain high-level channels to influence policy design and implementation. Yet, ENGO input is not pursued as a public good valuable for its own sake, but sought strategically as a means to the larger goal of efficient market functioning. This type of ‘strategic transparency,’ as we call it, suggests that China’s environmental governance model – regularly considered to be a key example of authoritarian environmentalism – instead represents an evolving mixture of liberal and illiberal tactics.

Diversified flood governance and related socio-spatial vulnerability in Tana River County, Kenya.

What are the consequential socio-spatial vulnerabilities of fragmentation in flood risk governance (FRG) functions in Tana River County, Kenya? To answer the question, this paper utilises social differentiation theory to establish types and consequences of such fragmentation. It applies theoretical patterns and processes of social differentiation to expose that FRG diversification could result in fragmentation of FRG functions. The study employs an interview strategy that focuses on governmental and non-governmental FRG actors. The results reveal that fragmented FRG functions in Tana River County was not an intentional policy decision, but rather a product of a transitional vacuum between policy promulgation and implementation. Furthermore, socio-spatial vulnerabilities differentiated by patterns and processes related to age, gender, disability, and ethnicity, for instance, are consequential outcomes of fragmented FRG functions in the Tana River floodplains. The study recommends implementation of the National Disaster Management Policy in Tana River County and institutionalisation of a specific FRG policy and legal framework.

Queer and trans activism in South African schools: Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) disrupting LGBT+ inequalities

This paper challenges the idea that schools can sufficiently address LGBT+ inequalities and makes a case for schools to forge alliances with non-governmental actors who provide advocacy and support. It draws on in-depth interviews with educational staff and NGO queer and trans activists to explore their agendas in responding to cisheteronormativity in schools. The paper argues that teachers and NGO interactions are underpinned by an ambivalent logic whereby the advocacy and support work by NGOs in schools is viewed as “matter out of place” on the one hand and as work that ultimately matters on the other.

Strategy Formulation Process and Interorganizational Collaboration

The study examines how two major strategy formulation approaches influence city governments’ decision to collaborate. Collaboration with governmental and nongovernmental actors gives rise to varying levels of risks, which can be managed by using the appropriate strategy formulation approach. Using data from a national survey of cities, we find that formal strategic planning catalyzes cross-sectoral collaboration but is not associated with government-to-government collaboration. Logical incrementalism has a consistently negative relationship with collaboration regardless of sector. The findings indicate that collaboration can be limited by city governments’ capacity to undertake formal strategic planning and their propensity to engage in incrementalist decision-making.

A Gold Ounce for Every Throat Cut

Peace in the Banda Oriental, at the borders between the Spanish and Portuguese empires in the Río de la Plata region, marks one of the major developments in the political geography of Latin America from 1777-1801, yet the subject has not been studied rigorously. This chapter explores how this peace came about after failing several times previously. Both Spanish and Portuguese colonial agents and policy-makers affected such peace by overcoming resistance to imperialism. A Luso-Hispanic policy of removal resulted in the Jesuits’ loss of power in South America. Several successful mapping expeditions reduced Iberian dependence on native guides, limiting indigenous control over European colonization. Near extermination of cattle in the region and increased Spanish and Portuguese patrols over grazing lands curbed much of the illicit cattle hunting in the Río de la Plata. And the Spanish conquest of Colonia del Sacramento, a key contraband base, decreased smugglers’ activity in the region. As the power of these non-governmental actors diminished, Iberian empires augmented their claims to sovereignty in the region and could finally affect the peace that Lisbon and Madrid so desired. This moment demonstrates a brief apogee in Iberian colonial control in the late eighteenth century.

Conceptualizations of Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation: A Case Study of the Daniel Boone National Forest

abstract: The Daniel Boone National Forest (DBNF) contains numerous abandoned mine sites left over from eastern Kentucky's history of coal mining, many of which are leaching contaminants into the environment. The United States Forest Service is acting to reclaim these sites to mitigate negative impacts. There are several other governmental and non-governmental actors in Appalachia with different conceptualizations of reclamation's purpose. This research examines the mine land reclamation process on a protected area within a region with a history of resource extraction and builds on previous work to understand different conceptualizations of abandoned mine land reclamation in Appalachia. Content analysis was conducted on DBNF project documentation, interviews, and documentation from state and federal agencies, and NGOs. These documents indicate that government entities tend to conceptualize reclamation and its purpose in a siloed manner. This research also reveals that non-governmental actors tend to conceptualize reclamation in a holistic manner but are less able to exert control over an area. The DBNF largely conceptualizes the purpose of reclamation as achieving ecosystem restoration but may benefit from working more closely with NGOs and adopting a similarly holistic approach. Opening a dialogue between these actors could help address the knowledge gap present at the DBNF's sites.

Selling the junta abroad: PR campaigns and UK–Greek relations during the Wilson government, 1967–69

ABSTRACT The propagandistic machine of the military dictatorship that ruled Greece between 1967 and 1974 has provided a focal point of scholarly inquiry in recent years. However, research has focused on the domestic front—the role of radio, television, and cinema—and has completely neglected the issue of public relations in the foreign policy arena. Nothing is known about how the dictatorship, which held an exceedingly weak reputational hand, strove to remake its image to the outside world. This article addresses this historiographical lacuna, exploring the Greek junta’s attempts to improve its international reputation by enlisting the services of foreign public relations (PR) firms. By demonstrating the interplay of nation branding and foreign policy in this way, this article highlights the underappreciated role of transnational non-governmental actors such as PR firms in the ‘nation branding’ of authoritarian regimes. In the process, it reveals how the lobbying activities of a London-based PR firm enlisted by the junta vitiated UK–Greek relations during Harold Wilson’s Labour government, and culminated in an important, and underexplored, flashpoint in political discourse concerning the outside interests of parliamentarians and standards of integrity in British public life.

Correlates of radical localism across American counties

ABSTRACT Radical localism is a sociological phenomenon in the United States that prioritizes county interests over federal mandates. It often involves non-government actors, such as militias or armed movements, and government actors, such as elected officials. We seek to unearth the relationships between radical localism and the sociological conditions that may aggravate such extremist ideas. In this study, we examine the local conditions that may foster radical localism and extremist views. We hypothesize that radical localism is influenced by three factors: (1) the proportion of federally owned lands in a county; (2) the change in the percentage of white people in a county’s population; and (3) the degree of underrepresentation of a county’s population in state and federal legislatures. We test our hypotheses using data from U.S. counties that have experienced radical localism. Our findings support our hypotheses and reveal the growing sociological divisions within radical localism.

Changes in social mixing and attitudes and practices to precautionary measures in a maturing COVID-19 pandemic in six communities in Sudan: a qualitative study

IntroductionWith low COVID-19 vaccination coverage, non-pharmaceutical interventions were critical to mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic in Sudan. We explored changes in social contact patterns, risk perception, attitudes, and practices toward protective measures during an evolving COVID-19 outbreak in six illustrative communities in Sudan.MethodsThis qualitative study took place in six communities in five Sudanese states using focus group discussions with community members and non-participant structured observations in public spaces between March 2021 and April 2021. A total of 117 participants joined 24 group discussions. We used a two-stage thematic analysis.ResultsThe perceived importance of compliance with individual preventative measures among those who believe in COVID-19 was higher than observed compliance with behaviors in most study sites. Adherence was consistently low and mainly driven by enforced movement restrictions. As restrictions were lifted, social contacts outside the household resumed pre-COVID-19 levels, and risk perception and individual and institutional adherence to protective measures diminished. We identified an environment that is socially and economically unsupportive of preventive practices, compounded by widespread rumours, misinformation, and mistrust in the government-led response. However, we identified new social habits that can contribute to reducing COVID-19 transmission.ConclusionThe unfavourable social and economic environment, coupled with the low visibility of the pandemic and pandemic response, has likely modulated the influence of higher risk perception on adopting precautionary behaviours by individuals. Governments and non-governmental actors should increase the visibility of the pandemic and pandemic response, enforce and incentivise infection control measures in public areas, promote emerging preventive social habits, and actively track and address rumours and misinformation related to COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines.

Implementation of Legal Aid for the Poor Communities of DKI Jakarta Based on Law No.16 of 2011 (Case Study: Handling Domestic Violence for Women & Children by LKBH FH UPNVJ)

The main objective of this research is to discuss how to implement legal aid policies, namely Law no. 16 of 2011, for poor communities, especially for victims of domestic violence in DKI Jakarta. Focuses on interactions and strategies between the National Legal Development Agency, the DKI Jakarta Regional Office of the Ministry of Law & Human Rights, and the FH UPNVJ Legal Assistance and Consultation Institute, as well as identifying problems that arise in providing legal assistance in the field. This research uses the Policy Capacity theory by Xun Wu, M. Ramesh, and M. Howlett. Providing legal assistance by government and non-government actors is faced with many complex challenges, especially handling domestic violence cases in DKI Jakarta, so innovation is needed from actors to overcome these challenges.

A system of principles as legal instruments that facilitate the achievement of the tasks of the coordination function of administrative and legal support for the coordination of anti-corruption actors

The coordination function of the State in combating corruption is the level of manifestation of the State influence in social relations and the main activity of the State, which consists in coordinating actions between different elements of the State apparatus in combating corruption, in coordinating actions between the State apparatus and non-governmental actors of the social system, in streamlining social and public administration relations, directing them towards achieving common goals or interests, and in which the method of direct imperative control is used rather than the method of coordinating actions in relation to based on common interests and/or competencies, in accordance with the principle of striving for ideal performance.
 Anti-corruption activities can only be effective if the principles of coordination of anti-corruption actors are established at the regulatory level and the principles of administrative and legal support for coordination of anti-corruption actors are established, which is due to the need for quick and complete coordination and its effective implementation.
 The need to study the principles of administrative and legal regulation of the State's coordination function in combating corruption is due to the existence of gaps in the theoretical plane of law cognition and limited scientific substantiation. That is why the issues related to administrative and legal regulation of the State's coordination function in combating corruption are relevant for research, and its principles are among the key ones in this context.
 In general, the coordination role of the state is hardly ever considered through the prism of principles. Given the extremely low level of scientific attention to the issue of administrative and legal support for the coordination of anti­corruption actors, its essence, features and directions, one of the priority tasks should be to define a system of principles of this institution as the basic and initial idea of the entire system of state influence on social relations. Even today, the principles of administrative and legal support for the coordination of anti-corruption actors are not yet considered fundamental categories, as many scholars still perceive them in the abstract and separately from practical activities.

A comprehensive study on non-governmental actors in shaping grassland ecological compensation within legal frameworks

Ecological compensation has emerged as a crucial institutional framework for managing the interplay between ecological preservation and economic development in China. This study focuses on the specific case of grassland ecological compensation to investigate the protection of rights and interests of non-governmental subjects. By utilizing data derived from questionnaire responses, this study examines the legal rights, obligations, and responsibilities associated with grassland ecological compensation. Statistical techniques such as Z-distribution, chi-square test, and non-parametric measures of correlation are employed to analyze the collected data, which are presented using tables and graphs. Furthermore, this research evaluates the current state of rights and interests of compensation subjects engaged in ecological compensation practices, aiming to enhance our comprehension and assessment of the extent to which the ecological compensation system safeguards the rights and interests of individuals. The findings show that a substantial number of respondents see current grassland ecological compensation methods in China as reasonable but insufficient, indicating a need for method diversification. There’s a clear preference for a shared responsibility model over government-only funding, especially in regions with large grassland areas. This highlights the necessity for adaptable laws and a legal framework that accommodates diverse stakeholder needs. Additionally, the importance of clear property rights is emphasized for sustainable land use. The study suggests legislative reform towards a more equitable and effective approach to grassland conservation, providing valuable recommendations for refining and advancing the ecological compensation system.Author name 1 (Ziqi Liu) mismatch between ms and metadata. We have foolowed metadata. Kindly check and confirm.The metadata is right. Thank you.