State-civil Society Relations Research Articles

Not just another crapshoot development: the challenges and opportunities of modelling after Las Vegas and Macao as an economic development strategy in the 21st century

Recent decades highlight an extraordinary growth of casino gambling all over the world. In the race to build casino-cities, particularly to reap economic and social benefits, most aspirers look to replicate the development models of the most famous casino-cities known to date, Las Vegas and Macao. Countries that have modelled after the aforementioned casino-cities have had mix results of success; e.g., Singapore, which followed Macao, yielded considerable success, while other states of the US which modelled Las Vegas, such as Atlantic City, did not have as much luck. In this respect, the countries adhere to the words of the wise; “Standing on the shoulders of the giants”. Yet, perhaps explaining why no country can really replicate the successful development experiences of Las Vegas and Macao, most countries fail to see beyond the glitz and glamor to recognize the key challenges and opportunities that helped make Las Vegas and Macao; e.g., with respect to the presence of domestic organized crime groups. This paper delves deep into identifying the key actors and circumstances that made the aforementioned cities what they are today, elucidating the integral development strategies used during their formative years. Utilizing a Marxian approach to understanding the state and state-civil society relations, the paper elucidates why no country can really replicate the development models of Las Vegas and Macao without appreciating its socio-political characteristics and the intricate ties between the upperworld and underworld during their formative years. In light of the findings, recommendations are provided for future research and pragmatic endeavours.

The state and the reconstruction of civil society

The current relationship between the state and civil society in Europe is a curious and historically unique one. This is no longer a situation in which participation and association prepare citizens for the offices of the state; rather, it is the state urging a sometimes-reluctant citizenry to engage actively in civil society. This phenomenon stems from a combination of changes in prevailing governance paradigms and of the more general process of social liquefaction. In the article, we analyse these two intertwining trends and discuss the new type of relationship between the state and civil society that may be emerging. Points for practitioners The article puts the current vogue for renewed state–civil society relationships in a larger context. It shows that, however commendable many initiatives may be, there is the risk that the desire on the part of governments for their citizens to participate and self-organize may lead the state to take over such initiatives, leading to a manufactured civil society that has little to do with spontaneous citizen initiatives. Another possible consequence is that truly spontaneous citizen initiatives will shun collaboration with the state and focus only inwards, to the detriment of broader public values. Therefore, in this area, the state must strike a delicate balance between encouragement and restraint.

Civil society and public–private partnerships: case study of the Agri-FoodBank in South Africa

In recent decades, civil society organizations (CSOs) have joined public–private partnerships (PPPs) to reduce poverty and promote local development. In what follows, I analyze the development of the Agri-FoodBank (AFB) CSO in South Africa in order to critically examine PPPs. As part of the FoodBank South Africa (FBSA) network of food banks, the AFB has emerged to reduce rural and urban food insecurities. Building on the national system of food banks, the AFB aims to train small-scale rural farmers to sell their crops to the food bank’s network of local food organizations which then feed the urban poor. In the case of the AFB, findings suggest that the PPP emerged as a mutually beneficial collaboration between the state and FBSA, as the state needed political power and FBSA needed money. However, for this PPP to form, FBSA completely transformed its mission and structure to fit the state’s preference for rural development projects. Thus, although the AFB formed to empower FBSA, data findings indicate that the AFB has increased state control over FBSA. In this way, PPPs need to be understood within the context of local state-civil society relations, as methods of state control reflect South Africa’s unique version of neoliberalism.

The ambiguities of the ‘partnership’ between civil society and the state in Uganda's AIDS response during the 1990s and 2000s as demonstrated in the development of TASO

ABSTRACTThis article critically investigates state–civil society relations in the Ugandan AIDS response by tracing the history of Uganda's ‘multisectoral’ and ‘partnership’ approaches, particularly as it pertains to The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO). It finds that the Ugandan government's reputation for good leadership on AIDS is more ambiguous than commonly supposed and that the much-vaunted ‘partnership’ approach has not enabled strong critical civil society voices to emerge or prevented the harmful impact of a socially conservative agenda. By the 1990s, TASO had become the most important provider of medical and psychosocial support services to HIV/AIDS patients, but was less effective in influencing policy or holding the state accountable (because the political context prevented a more activist stance). The effectiveness of civil society has been constrained by an authoritarian political culture and institutions that discourage vocal criticism. Despite these limitations, however, state–civil society partnership did contribute to the emergence of a relatively effective coalition for action against HIV/AIDS. Donors were essential in encouraging the emergence of this coalition.

The state, civil society and social rights in contemporary Russia

This article examines how socially oriented non-governmental organisations (SO NGOs) in Russia conceptualise the state’s role in guaranteeing social rights and negotiate relations with the state. It demonstrates that these organisations see the state as playing a key role in guaranteeing social rights. This facilitates a degree of agency in their relationship with the authorities, who are increasingly keen to use the experience SO NGOs provide for service delivery. This challenges the dominant view of compliant social NGOs which fully cooperate with the authorities and highlights the need for a more nuanced understanding of Russia’s state–civil society relations.

Political repression, civil society and the politics of responding to AIDS in the BRICS nations.

The policy responses to human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) nations have played out amid radically different political environments that have shaped state-civil society relations in critical ways. In contrasting these different environments, this article offers the first comparison of the policy response to AIDS in the BRICS nations and seeks to understand the way in which political context matters for conditioning the response to a major epidemic. Using a comparative historical approach, we find that while collaborative state-civil society relations have produced an aggressive response and successful outcomes in Brazil, democratic openness and state-civil society engagement has not necessarily correlated with an aggressive response or better outcomes in the other cases. Response to the epidemic has been worst by far in democratic South Africa, followed by Russia, where in the former, denialism and antagonistic state-civil society relations fuelled a delayed response and proved extremely costly in terms of human lives. In Russia, a lack of civil societal opportunity for mobilization and non-governmental organization (NGO) growth, political centralization and the state's unwillingness to work with NGOs led to an ineffective government response. Top-down bureaucratic rule and a reluctance to fully engage civil society in democratic India substantially delayed the state's efforts to engage in a successful partnership with NGOs. Nevertheless, China has done surprisingly well, in spite of its repressive approach and narrow engagement with civil society. And in all cases, we find the relationship between state and civil society to be evolving over time in important ways. These findings suggest the need for more research on the links between democratic openness, political repression and policy responses to epidemics.

Teorías de cambio y buenas prácticas en salud sexual y reproductiva de los adolescentes: una relectura

This article analyzes practices intended to improve the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents through the systematization of a project promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights in rural and peri-urban areas in Peru, as well as ethnographic research with youth-promoters who participated in this project. The study discusses the theories of change underlying these practices, their conditions of possibility, potentialities, and limitations. Using an approach based on the social determinants of health in the daily life of adolescents, a reevaluation is proposed of participative approaches and the state-civil society relationship with respect to the responsibility and implementation of so-called good practices in sexual and reproductive health.

Civil Society’s History: New Constructions of Ottoman Heritage by the Justice and Development Party in Turkey

This article examines the impact of JDP’s (Justice and Development Party) neo-Ottomanist heritage politics upon state-civil society relations in Turkey. Instead of treating Ottoman heritage as a fixed essence, this essay illustrates how shifting interpretations of the Ottoman past serve to construct alternative understandings of civil society. Although during the 1990s the Islamist movement largely depicted Ottoman “civil society” as a democratic force, I argue that this earlier understanding has been abandoned in favour of a depoliticized notion of state-civil society relations after JDP come to power in 2002. The ongoing selective portrayal of Ottoman heritage represents religious endowments [vakıfs] as state-supportive civil society organizations. Consequently, many contemporary civil society organizations are expected to conform to these newly conceived ideas about Ottoman heritage. Most importantly, this new mode of heritage production emphasizes a collaborative model of state-civil society relations instead of one that tolerates political opposition.

Child pornography and the law: Of Good Report (2013). Reopening debates on secrecy, information and censorship

Abstract The first cinema-release South African made film to be banned since the fall of apartheid was Of Good Report (2013). This article discusses the broader context of the banning, its unbanning, and the debates that occurred. These are linked to broader issues of freedom of media and democracy, of who gets to decide, and the nature of increasingly repressive state–civil society relations. Issues of censorship, regulation of images and audience agency are examined.

Civil Society and the State in Uganda's AIDS Response

This paper investigates state-civil society relations in the Ugandan AIDS response through a critical exploration of the history of Uganda’s ‘multi-sectoral’ and ‘partnership’ approaches, particularly as it pertains to The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO). It finds that the Ugandan government’s reputation for successful prevention campaigns is not necessarily deserved, and that the effectiveness of civil society is limited by an authoritarian political culture. Despite these limitations, however, state-civil society partnership did contribute to the emergence of a relatively effective coalition for action against HIV/AIDS. Donors were essential in encouraging the emergence of this coalition, but have also inadvertently undermined the emergence of strong and independent civil society voices able to hold the Ugandan state accountable.

After the revolution: from insurgencies to social projects to recover the public city in East and Southeast Asia

Popular insurgencies are appearing in every quarter of the globe today, showing that networked civil society can achieve political reform in even the most repressive contexts. While discourses on social discontents underlying these insurgencies have tended to focus on state-civil society relations, the discussion here directs attention to contemporary global-urban economic dynamics that are appropriating the urban space for the construction of privately managed corporate cities that are eroding the spatial foundations for associational life and democratic governance. Social mobilisations against these trends are ultimately ephemeral if they do not spread beyond protest movements to generate social projects to create an inclusive public sphere in which residents can directly participate in the social and political life of the city. The discussion draws from experiences in East and Southeast Asia to illustrate the ways in which people are mobilising to reclaim the public city for social and cultural life.

Strong Family, Weak State: Hegel’s Political Philosophy and the Filipino Family by Lukas Kaelin

Reviewed by: Strong Family, Weak State: Hegel’s Political Philosophy and the Filipino Family by Lukas Kaelin Arjan P. Aguirre lukas kaelin Strong Family, Weak State: Hegel’s Political Philosophy and the Filipino Family Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press 2012. 236 pages. In this novel usage of the “family” in Philippine politics and society, Strong Family, Weak State: Hegel’s Political Philosophy and the Filipino Family presents an interesting take on the complex yet often taken for granted interplay between and among the existing, and perhaps even the emerging, modern institutions in the Philippines today. The novelty of Lukas Kaelin’s work comes from his convincing application of Hegelian political theory on these modern institutions: family, civil society, and the state. Using Hegelian concepts, the book reflects on the conceptual openings and concrete opportunities for social change that can be considered in light of the centrality of Filipino “family” in modern Philippine society. The author, Lukas Kaelin, is a critical theorist and political philosopher. He was assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy of the Ateneo de Manila University from 2006 to 2008. He has written papers and commentaries on the Philippines, which cover topics such as the ethics of organ donation and the migration of nurses, and the family and political dynasties in the public sphere. In 2009 Kaelin became a research fellow at the Institute for Ethics and Law in Medicine of the University of Vienna. He is currently a visiting scholar at Stanford University. Kaelin begins his work by locating the “family” in today’s political theory of modern political order. With the apparent dominance of the Social Contract theory, he interrogates the common understanding of the Social Contract tradition of political order, which privileges individualism, freedom, and constitutionalism in the structure and practice of modern politics, by understanding the unique role of the “family” in the emergence, [End Page 587] dynamics, and outcomes of modern political order. Despite the recognition of some thinkers of the family’s role in structuring and laying the foundations of the state, he claims that the family “remains marginal and structurally insignificant” (12). The author uses Hegel’s political theory to engage and go beyond this Social Contract tradition by examining and understanding how social institutions shape norms or practices. Mindful of the inherent challenge that faces political theorists and philosophers—which speaks of the problem of applying one’s theory to reality—his study contrasts Hegel’s political theory with that of the modern Filipino family so that it “sets itself in the tradition of understanding ethical life in the context of concrete culture” (16). Kaelin saw the “family” in Hegel’s political theory as a core social institution that is both necessary for the “reproduction of society” and “ability to foster freedom” (19), and he uses this political theory as his framework to think about the Philippines in terms of the “strong family, weak state” thesis. The use of the Hegelian idealization of family, civil society, and state provides a philosophical grounding to the centrality of the Filipino family vis-à-vis the state. Readers will easily notice the structure of Kaelin’s application of Hegel’s political theory through two discussion points: first, the points of divergence between the empirical accounts of the twenty-first century Philippine case and the Hegelian conceptualization of a nineteenth-century European society; and, second, the points of convergence between the Filipino family–state–civil society relations and Hegelian thinking on family–state–civil society relations. For the first point, Kaelin’s creative conceptual comparison between contemporary Philippine society and Hegel’s depiction of nineteenth-century European society involves the identification and elaboration of the differences in the institutions, dynamics, and outcomes of these two social orders. His intent is to draw insights from their unique and distinct characteristics, features, and tendencies, which to him might be useful in coming up with new possibilities and conceptualizations for modern-day society. As he points out, we can identify seven more or less related points on which the Hegelian conception of social organization can be compared to the Filipino one. Almost all of them point to the different weight, arrangement and interaction of the...

The potential for neighbourhood regeneration in a period of austerity: Changing forms of neighbourhood governance in two cities

Localism is an active political strategy, developed in a period of austerity by the UK’s Coalition Government as a justification for the restructuring of state–civil society relationships. The deprived neighbourhood has long been a site for service delivery and a scale for intervention and action, giving rise to a variety of forms of neighbourhood governance. Prior international comparative research indicated convergence with the US, given the rise of the self-help conjuncture and the decline of neighbourhood governance as a medium of regeneration. The subsequent shift in the UK model from ‘big’ to ‘small state’ localism and deficit-reducing cuts to public expenditure confirm these trends, raising questions about the forms of neighbourhood governance currently being established, the role being played by local and central government, and the implications for neighbourhood regeneration. Two emerging forms of neighbourhood governance are examined in two urban local authorities and compared with prior forms examined in earlier research in the case study sites. The emerging forms differ significantly in their design and purpose, but as both are voluntary and receive no additional funding, better organised and more affluent communities are more likely to pursue their development. While it is still rather early to assess the capacity of these forms to promote neighbourhood regeneration, the potential in a period of austerity appears limited. Reduced funding for local services increases the imperative to self-help, while rights to local voice remain limited and the emerging forms provide little scope to influence (declining) local services and (still centralised) planning decisions, especially in neighbourhoods with regeneration needs that are likely to lack the requisite capacities, particularly stores of linking social capital. Initial conclusions suggest greater polarity and the further containment of deprived neighbourhoods.

Faith and the State: A History of Islamic Philanthropy in Indonesia

Amelia Fauzia (2013). Faith and the State: A History of Islamic in Indonesia. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. ISBN: 9789004233973. i-xxxi + 346 pages.Amelia Fauzia's thorough analysis of Islamic philanthropic practices in Indonesia from the early decades of Islam in the archipelago to today is more than a timely review of a tradition that both perpetuates and influences state-civil society relations. Given their historical continuity, cultural tenacity, and social, political, and economic relevance, these practices - also referred to as zakat (almsgiving), sedekah (donation, giving), and waqf (religious endowment) - play a vital role in Indonesian society today.As a lecturer of Islamic History and Civilization at the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University in Jakarta and holding a PhD in Indonesian history and Islamic studies from the University of Melbourne, Amelia has been working on the topic of Islamic philanthropy since 2002, when she engaged with a global research project on Philanthropy for Social Justice in Muslim Societies. This project brought together researchers from six different countries under her leadership, supported by a team of experts at the Center for the Study of Religion and Culture (CSRC) in Jakarta (in- cluding Chaider S. Bamualim and Irfan Abubakar, with whom she co-edited Filantropi Islam dan Keadilan Sosial [Islamic philanthropy and social justice] in 2006). Following several publications on the above-mentioned topics as well as on Islamization, Islam- ic identity, and civil society, Faith and the State is the subsequent publication of her PhD thesis - extensive review and detailed analysis of the practices of zakat, se- dekah, and waqf in Indonesia and their role in shaping the between the state and Muslim civil society. Her central argument is that Islamic philanthropic ac- tivities, including the establishment of educational institutions, the provision of com- munity services, or the financial support of community development projects, repre- sent element of a strong civil society and grow in the face of a weak state (p. 7). Amelia maintains this idea throughout her book without ignoring the complexity of the specific historical, socio-political, and cultural contexts.Faith and the State deals exclusively with Islamic philanthropic practices in Indone- sia and their development from the early centuries of Islamization to the more recent events of the post-New Order regime. It looks at the social and cultural consolidation of different forms of giving against the background of Islam and at various processes of reformation, (re)organization, and legislation of these practices. Islamic philan- thropy is presented as a dynamic and a highly contested space between the private and the public realm, between faith and the state (p. 6). Both a part of civil society (following Kathleen D. McCarthy, author of the American Creed: and the Rise of Civil Society) and an indicator of the state-civil society relationship (p. 9), philanthropy renders a neat separation between the private and public as well as between the state and society hard to achieve. Avoiding structural and conceptual di- chotomizations, Amelia indicates how, regardless of the role played by Muslim elites, religious authorities, or the state, Islamic philanthropy will never be fully formalized or regulated, mainly because of its authentic origin in the altruistic and reciprocal nature of people (p. xvii) and in the collective awareness and concern for the wel- fare of others (p. 1). And, although Islamic philanthropic activities are every so often used as a tool to communicate advanced ideas of social justice and to promote social change, the majority of philanthropic practices remain mostly traditional and self- contained, performed by Muslims motivated mainly by their faith.The book is chronologically structured around three major periods in the history of Indonesia. …

The Return of the State: Neocollectivism, Agrarian Politics and Images of Technological Progress in the MAS Era in Bolivia

The Movement towards Socialism (MAS) party promised to break with neoliberal politics when it rose to power in Bolivia in 2006. Using the concept of neocollectivism to characterize MAS agrarian politics, this paper examines one of its key instruments for achieving rural development: the state enterprise EMAPA. This state company, which supports small producers, envisions a new agrarian structure of production and commercialization, one that will break the power of the Santa Cruz–based agro‐industrial elite. Drawing on a discussion of the mechanisms of governance employed by this state entity, we argue that new complexities in state–civil society relations and a low state capacity have constrained its ability to shift power relationships between the state and the agro‐industrial elites. Instead of reducing the dependency of small producers on agro‐industrial capital, the Bolivian state has increased it, thereby undermining its goal of redistribution. The paper also analyses different moments of politicization and depoliticization in the intervention process arising from the demand for political change, as well as for technically efficient and profitable agricultural production.

State, civil society, and the limits of NGO institutionalization in post-apartheid South Africa

While some civil society organizations (CSOs) initially embraced the state in post-apartheid South Africa, many became increasingly disappointed with the state’s incapacity to effect meaningful and long-lasting social change. This has resulted in a range of new CSO activity, including semi-autonomous non-governmental organizations, numerous basic needs organizations, and broad based social movements. Through in-depth interviews and participant observation, this article examines one CSO as a case study to highlight the emerging fractures in South Africa’s state–civil society configuration. Findings in this article suggest that some CSOs have successfully disengaged with the South African state due to its inefficient and corrupt funding practices, incapacity for effective leadership, and outright hostility towards CSOs. However, these data also indicate that problematic state–civil society relations may weaken South African CSOs’ potential to operate effectively or develop social movements which challenge the state.

Civil Service and Civil Society Collaboration: A Comparative Analysis of Disaster Management Results in China and the United States

This article explores the way natural disasters provide an opportunity to address relations between civil society and the state as mutually empowering. Such opportunity can be reinforced when civil servants help to mobilize the interests of marginalized communities into disaster management and collaborate with active civil associations in seeking to reduce disaster vulnerabilities. This requires that public administration be able to respond to disaster in an effective and equitable way. Civil servants should be capable of being socially reliable by building and maintaining trust in relationships with communities and civil organizations. Using the Gulf Coast Hurricanes (United States) in 2005 and the Wenchuan Earthquake (China) in 2008 as case studies, this article comparatively addresses the significance of public administration's role in developing mutual empowerment in state and civil society relations in the face of adversity. Given the fact that civil service capacity becomes a crucial factor in determining state-civil society relations, it also has important implications for the potential of democratization in China.

On the Perils and Potentialities of Revolution

Bolivia is living a moment of transition that has raised expectations of a profound transformation of the state–civil-society relationship and of conflict dynamics. The Movimiento al Socialismo has promoted the direct participation of previously excluded sectors in public affairs and the integration of the traditional practices of indigenous groups into formal institutional structures. The heterogeneity of its ruling coalition has posed serious challenges with regard to the management of potential tensions among diverse social sectors. A key role in the promotion of a hegemonic project is played by discourse. Conflict is structured in terms of a strong, self-reinforcing set of narratives about crucial aspects of social life, among them the identification of external enemies and the generation of new merging categories that invent new collective subjects. This rhetorical strategy has not, however, been able to eliminate the oppositional politics of Bolivian social movements. Bolivia vive un momento de transición que ha aumentado las expectativas de una profunda transformación de la relación Estado–sociedad-civil y de la dinámica del conflicto. El Movimiento al Socialismo ha promovido la participación directa de sectores antes excluidos de los asuntos públicos, así como la integración de prácticas tradicionales de grupos indígenas en las estructuras institucionales formales. La heterogeneidad de su coalición gobernante plantea desafíos serios con respecto al manejo de tensiones potenciales entre diversos sectores sociales. Un papel clave en la promoción de un proyecto hegemónico lo juega el discurso. El conflicto se estructura por medio de fuertes narrativas auto-reforzadas acerca de aspectos cruciales de la vida social, entre ellas la identificación de los enemigos externos y la generación de nuevas categorías emergentes que inventan nuevos sujetos colectivos. Esta estrategia retórica, sin embargo, no ha podido eliminar la política opositora de los movimientos sociales bolivianos.

Civil society and the state intertwined: the case of disability NGOs in Russia

This article examines state–civil society relationships in contemporary Russia. Its objective is to assess opportunity structures of Russian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that are intertwined with the state. The article presents qualitative data from fieldwork in the Russian cities of Moscow, St Petersburg, Nizhniy Novgorod, and Perm in 2009 and 2010. The focus of NGOs in the field of disability was chosen because of their roles as social service providers and as advocates for the rights of the disabled. The findings indicate that despite the Soviet legacy of an occupying state, Russian NGOs widen their opportunities by maintaining close relationships with state structures. Thus, litigation strategies seem to be an effective instrument for fostering social change for the benefit of the disabled.

Disaster Governance: Social, Political, and Economic Dimensions

Disaster governance is an emerging concept in the disaster research literature that is closely related to risk governance and environmental governance. Disaster governance arrangements and challenges are shaped by forces such as globalization, world-system dynamics, social inequality, and sociodemographic trends. Governance regimes are polycentric and multiscale, show variation across the hazards cycle, and tend to lack integration and to be formulated in response to particular large-scale disaster events. Disaster governance is nested within and influenced by overarching societal governance systems. Although governance failures can occur in societies with stable governance systems, as the governmental response to Hurricane Katrina shows, poorly governed societies and weak states are almost certain to exhibit deficiencies in disaster governance. State-civil society relationships, economic organization, and societal transitions have implications for disaster governance. Various measures can be employed to assess disaster governance; more research is needed in this nascent field of study on factors that contribute to effective governance and on other topics, such as the extent to which governance approaches contribute to long-term sustainability.