Understanding Of Civil Society Research Articles

Governing by Rankings: How the Global Open Data Index Helps Advance the Open Data Agenda

This paper studies how the Global Open Data Index (GODI) mobilises different audiences and translates into open data policy and publication. As such, it urges for a broader vision of ‘impact’ that traces the users of governance indicators first, before describing how indicators translate into different actions. The findings should be read as a depiction of different types of impact, yet without claiming representativity across different contexts. Based on the interview sample, GODI drives change primarily from within government. Its international visibility and country rankings may incentivise and maintain high-level support for open data. In the absence of open data policies, GODI has been used to support commitment when combined with soft-policy tools. GODI also lays a baseline for agencies to improve and is used at multiple government levels to highlight progress around open data, despite non-comparability of results across years. GODI could help individual agencies and communicate more clearly what a good open dataset looks like. Being easily communicable does not come without risks. There is evidence that GODI was confounded with broader open government policies and used as an argument to reduce investment in other aspects of open government. This effect may possibly be exacerbated by superficial media coverage that reports on the ranking without engaging with the broader context of country’s information policies. In order to understand civil society’s engagement with GODI, more research is needed first to classify and sample civil society actors and reconstruct ways of engaging with governance indicators carefully. Our findings suggest that individuals and organisations working around transparency and anti-corruption make little use of GODI due to a lack of detail, and a misalignment with their work tasks.

Editorial annex: key findings and recommendations from the HERCULES research project, and the need for a landscape approach to enviromental governance

This paper derives from the work of the EU-funded HERCULES (HERitage in CULtural landscapES) research project 2013–2016, which explored how future policy might respond better to the drivers, dynamics, actors, and values of European landscapes. It summarises the key findings from the project, together with its recommendations for landscape policy and practice and for science policy and further research. The paper then discusses the concept of an integrated ‘Landscape Approach’ in the context of environmental governance generally. The HERCULES findings suggest that this concept is important in analysing, formulating, and implementing policy, because it provides a holistic approach that incorporates diverse stakeholder perspectives to address landscape changes in an appropriate manner. The paper sets out some of the more detailed recommendations of the HERCULES project about harmonising EU policies in an ELC-centred and culturally informed landscape framework, based on understanding landscape character and (most importantly) civil society participation, to implement the approach.

Space, Social Relations, and Contestation: Transformative Peacebuilding and World Social Forum Climate Spaces

AbstractThe 2013 and 2015 World Social Forums in Tunis, Tunisia hosted thematic “climate spaces” for the first time. This article examines the extent to which these spaces are constitutive of a form of “transformative peacebuilding” aiming to transform social relations and eliminate the structural violence of the world capitalist economy. Both the theoretical and practical activities of civil society at the climate spaces are shown to be transformative but only to the extent that they contest broad processes of trasformismo which transcend differences and obscure the lived realities of governance and resistance. In this sense, civil society groups and movements at the climate spaces are shown to engage with global capitalism to potentially produce new global understanding and action. This generates new understandings of civil society as constitutive of directly resistant modes of social relation that push for radically different visions of climate justice and governance.

Schulpastoral an öffentlichen Schulen

Abstract Using the example of a 2012-2014 research project about pastoral work in public schools, the essay aims to demonstrate how ecclesial acts outside of Religious Education in the context of public schools can contribute to civil society as a place of “everyday democracy” - both at the micro level of individuals, of students and teachers, and at the meso level of schools as organizations. This is based on the premise of an understanding of civil society which is located between the private sphere of individuals on one side and the state/political level on the other side. At a normative level, this definition understands prosocial orientations (solidarity, community spirit, etc.) as a place of everyday democracy and focuses on the representation of common interests. The churches - as intermediary organizations - also are a central part of this civil society.

Civil Society as Ideology in the Middle East: A Critical Perspective

Since the early 1990s support for civil society has constituted the linchpin of international efforts in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) to promote democratisation and democratic values. The rationale for this support lies in an understanding of civil society drawn from a liberal-democratic model, which dominates debates about civil society. This paper highlights the inaccuracies of this model when applied to the MENA and, using Turkey as an example, draws attention to the perils of supporting civil society organisations (CSOs) based on its conjectures. A critical analysis of CSOs and their role in Turkish society, drawing on the theoretical framework laid down by Gramsci, highlights two key issues: (1) contrary to the dominant policy view which equates civil society organisations with democracy, CSOs often assist elites in both democratic and undemocratic states to extend and consolidate their political economic power; (2) the idealisation of civil society by Western policy makers results in a diminished awareness of the factors which weaken civil society and erodes its democratic potential. Overall, the findings support the assertion that CSOs in the MENA facilitate predominantly elite interests over those of ordinary citizens and democracy more broadly.

Kingdoms, Communities, and Óenaig: Irish Assembly Practices in their Northwest European Context

Abstract This paper explores the nature of assembly practices in early medieval Ireland (AD 400–1100). It focuses specifically on the oenach, the pre-eminent assembly of each level of community and kingdom in Irish society, and it engages critically with how assembly as a topic has been traditionally understood and analyzed by Irish scholarship. Through analysis of the nature of the oenach, I suggest that the predominantly economistic interpretation of this institution by Irish scholarship is misplaced and that rather the oenach was an Irish equivalent of pan-European assembly practices. Accordingly, this paper explores the character of oenaig (plural of oenach) in the context of this pan-European phenomenon. Furthermore, some preliminary results from ongoing research offer insights into the archaeological manifestation of assembly practices, the spatial dynamic of assembly landscapes, and the implications of the same for our understanding of civil society, scales of identity, and the practice of assembly...

The “Institutional Space” of Civil Society in China: The Legal Framework of Civil Society Organizations

In order to adequately understand civil society in China, it is necessary to examine the different types of organizations that comprise civil society and the transformation of the legal system in which civil society organizations (CSOs) exist in China today. This article first presents a summary of the roles and relative positions of each type of CSO in the “institutional space” the Chinese government has allowed as it refers to the organizational “map” of Chinese civil society. Second, it shows how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), with the aim of controlling and managing CSOs, established and maintained a strict control system from the formation of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949 until the end of the last century. Next, it further traces how the party-state, since becoming a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, has implemented systemic reforms regarding civil society in response to rapid changes in Chinese domestic society-yet one may interpret the series of legal reforms in recent years as a scheme for further incorporating civil society into the CCP's ruling system. It concludes by stressing the importance of keeping an eye on the “institutional space” for the future development of civil society in China.

Civil Society, Third Edition

In recent years, a steady decline in civil society organization membership and participation has been reported from developed and developing nations. To understand this phenomenon it is imperative to understand what civil society is; because there are a lot of variations among scholars, practitioners and policy makers regarding the subject, there is considerable confusion about the term. In the book ‘Civil Society’, Michael Edwards attempts to clarify the meaning of civil society, why we need it, its challenges and ways to overcome the challenges it faces. In this updated third edition, Edwards brings fresh insights from the latest global socio-political events and considers how they influence our understanding of civil society. One major improvement from the first edition (2004) is the application of an integrated systems approach to understanding civil society which is better than the focus on associational life alone. Civil society is a broad term. It is so broad that many governments, journalists, funding agencies, academics and the public see it as an aspiration in their struggles for a better world. However, their definitions and approaches vary. As the author mentions ‘depending on whose version one follows civil society is either a specific product of the nation-state and capitalism that arose spontaneously to mediate conflicts between social life and the market economy when the industrial revolution fractured traditional bonds of kind and community; or a universal expression of the collective life of individuals that is at work in all countries and stages of development, but one that is expressed in different ways according to history and culture’ (p. 3). It is this ambiguity that the book addresses. The core principle of civil society is to provide space for the poor and discriminated groups to participate in political and public debates, which are free from dominating groups. Despite the best objectives, civil society is under threat from many forces, especially political groups, repressive governments and market mechanisms. As a result, the book demands that every generation adopt a shared responsibility to nurture and promote these values using relevant and available tools.

Participatory Politics: Understanding Civil Society Organisations in Governance Networks in Khayelitsha

This paper revisits the role of grassroots forms of mobilisation and organisation that act as governance intermediaries between civil society and government. It focuses on two organisations in Khayelitsha, the Khayelitsha Development Forum (KDF), a development organisation formed at grassroots in 1985, and the South African National Civics Organisation (SANCO), a national social movement organisation claiming grassroots forms of mobilisation that retains a strong membership base in Khayelitsha. The main focus of the article is to examine to what extent these two grassroots governance organisations enable ordinary people to influence government through direct and representational forms of participation. Agency is explored in relation to the degree to which individuals and community groups are able to access and influence both self-created (invented) and more formal (invited) spaces of governance and government [Cornwall, A., and V. S. Coelho. eds. (2007). Spaces for Change? Participation, Inclusion and Voice. London: Zed Books; Thompson, L., and C. Tapscott, eds. (2010). “Introduction: Mobilisation and Social Movements in the South – The Challenges of Inclusive Governance.” In Citizens and Social Movements: Perspectives from the Global South. London: Zed Books]. The discussion shows that grassroots mobilisation on socio-economic rights, in the case of KDF and, to a greater extent, SANCO, is fraught with leadership battles, factionalism and party politics. The ability to exercise agency through SANCO is limited severely as a result, and in the case of KDF, managing political rivalry and party politics negatively impacts on the functioning of the community development organisation, and its ability to influence government.

Reconsidering the ‘risk society theory’ in the South: The case of civil society actions against a proposed industrial risk facility in Durban, South Africa

ABSTRACTThis paper draws on the theoretical framework of German sociologist Ulrich Beck's ‘risk society theory’ of reflexiveness to assist in understanding civil society response to industrial risk in Durban, South Africa. The paper draws on qualitative research and presents viewpoints from key stakeholders at the city level and through a local case study. Following the case, an assessment of the ways in which the risk society concept is useful to examine the empirical results and how it needs to be reconsidered in the South African context is presented. Beck's separation of reflexive spontaneous action and reflective strategic action for reflexiveness is assessed, including his notion that reflexive action, which is devoid of knowledge, precedes reflective action. Besides empirically highlighting that reflexive and reflection actions are tied together in a complex relationship, the paper shows that the degree of reflexiveness in the South is more complex than risk society suggests. There is a need for the applicability of risk society beyond the narrow confines of the First World to explore the geographies of reflexiveness.

Issues of media education of the USA and Canada in the information society

ABSTRACT The experience of different countries concerning the formation of preconditions for the development of the information society has been considered. The consequences of “totalitarian” model during the transition to open democratic civil society and the role of education and educators in this process have been defined on the example of Russia, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. The introduction of media education on the example of the U.S. and Canada as development of society and civilized economy has been substantiated. Didactic information space (DIS) - a unique educational technology, which was elaborated by scientists in the Mykolaiv College of Press and Television - has been characterized. It has proven to be the most efficient technology in the former Soviet Union that considers civic, social, educational direction, taking into account the information society. It has been determined that for further research it will be interesting to study interrelation between the need to obtain simultaneously a huge amount of experience - understanding European values, the next stage of human development (transition from industrial to information), the acquisition of democratic thinking, understanding of civil society - and the public acquisition of media literacy skills through the widespread introduction of media education. There exists the need of simultaneous acquisition of knowledge and skills that makes the process complicated. In addition, none of the considered aspects are taught in any school discipline and unfortunately they are submitted only in several universities of Ukraine. But there is a positive experimental experience of Mykolaiv College of Press and Television through the interrelation of classroom and extracurricular activities.

THEORETICAL SOURCES OF THE FORMATION OF THE CONCEPT OF CIVIL SOCIETY

The purpose is to identify the main theoretical sources and stages of formation of the civil society concept. The special attention was drawn to the correlation of the idea of civil society conceptualization with the specific historical conditions, what is poorly researched in the scientific and analytical literature on the issues of civil society. The article is an analysis of the conceptualization of the idea of civil society in ancient and medieval epochs, although in the academic literature the reviews of the theory of civil society usually begin with European authors of modern times, the author doesn't consider it to be reasonable, as the concept was firstly based in antiquity and then developed in the Middle Ages. The development of the theory of civil society in the age of the European Enlightenment and in the XIX century is analyzed on the example of three main traditions: Anglo-American, French, North German. The result of the work is the establishment of the correlation of conceptualization the idea of civil society with the specific historical conditions, as well as definition the stages and characteristics of evolution of the key components of the tradition understanding of civil society, the relation between the state and society, the theory of the social contract.

Bifurcated loyalty and religious actors’ behaviour in democratic politics: the case of post-1967 religious Zionism in Israel

This paper deals with the political behaviour of religious groups in a democratic setting. In particular, it suggests an explanation as to why the same religious group might adopt very different modes of engagement with the state, over the same issues, at different times. The proposed framework combines two components: (1) a communitarian understanding of civil society; and (2) the concept of bifurcated loyalty which grasps the unique tension experienced by religious groups in democratic regimes, and its effect on their political behaviour. I go on to apply this framework in the case of religious Zionism in Israel. This case, which explores important events and trends in the history of the religious Zionist group in Israel, with special emphasis on the post-1967 era, nicely demonstrates the shifting strategies of engagement of this group with the state. The behaviour of this group ranged from constructive collaboration through participation in government to outright violent clashes with the state. Such dramatic changes expose the link between changing levels of bifurcated loyalty and political behaviour in response to changes in state policies towards religious actors and contents. The paper concludes with a brief discussion about the general applicability of such an approach to the study of religious groups in democratic politics and civil society.

Combating The Kidney Commerce: Civil Society against Organ Trafficking in Pakistan and Israel

Can civil society bring governments to curb transnational crime? The article answers this question by analyzing a most-likely case for civil-society influence: organ trafficking. Physicians' efforts to eliminate this practice are examined in Pakistan and Israel: two major participants in the global organ trade. In both countries, the physicians' pressure resulted in the enactment of organ-trade prohibitions. These, however, were not fully enforced. The analysis suggests that, even under favorable conditions, civil society's impact on transnational-crime policies is limited, yet not inconsequential: Pakistan's involvement in organ trafficking, and even more so Israel's, has declined. Beyond its contribution to understanding civil society's role in the criminalization process, the article sheds light on the hitherto little-studied politics of the organ trade.

Re-conceptualizing Civil Society: Towards a Radical Understanding

The article examines problematic aspects of contemporary theoretical thinking about civil society within a Western liberal-democratic context. The impact of neo-liberalism upon narratives of civil society, the assumption that civility resides more conspicuously within the world of associational life, and the tendency to conflate ‘civil society’ with the ‘third sector’ are areas critically discussed. Such conceptual incongruities, it is argued, obscure the path to a more radical theoretical understanding of civil society. In the second part of the article an alternative model of civil society is proposed. Supporting Evers premise that ‘every attempt to narrow down civil society to the third sector seriously impoverishes the very concept of civil society’ (Evers, Voluntary Sector Review 1:116, 2010), it is argued that civil society is best understood as a normative political concept, as being contingent in nature and distinct from the third sector.

Combating the Kidney Commerce: Civil Society against Organ Trafficking in Pakistan and Israel

Can civil society bring governments to curb transnational crime? The article answers this question by analyzing a most-likely case for civil-society influence: organ trafficking. Physicians' efforts to eliminate this practice are examined in Pakistan and Israel: two major participants in the global organ trade. In both countries, the physicians' pressure resulted in the enactment of organ-trade prohibitions. These, however, were not fully enforced. The analysis suggests that, even under favorable conditions, civil society's impact on transnational-crime policies is limited, yet not inconsequential: Pakistan's involvement in organ trafficking, and even more so Israel's, has declined. Beyond its contribution to understanding civil society's role in the criminalization process, the article sheds light on the hitherto little-studied politics of the organ trade.

Russian Civil Societies: Conventional and "Virtual"

Recent developments in Russian politics present a challenge to the traditional understanding of civil society. In hybrid regimes like Russia, conventional civil society is often weak. But as recent events in Russia demonstrate, with the rise of the Internet, ”virtual” civil society-fostered through dense networks of online interaction-may function as a substitute, providing the basis for civic activism even in the presence of an anemic conventional civil society. This mixture of weak conventional civil society and robust ”virtual” civil society imparts a particular dynamic to state-society relations within hybrid regimes in the Internet age. As this essay demonstrates, ”virtual” civil society breeds weak political organization and a false sense of representativeness within political oppositions, at the same time as injecting a greater degree of volatility into politics and presenting incumbent regimes with particular challenges for repression.

‘Welcome to the Counterjihad’: Uncivil Networks and the Narration of European Public Spheres

Accounts of a unifying European public sphere (EPS) can seem bleak in a social policy literature, emphasizing the need for coherent deliberative processes to legitimate the European Union as an enterprise in transnational democracy. The article confronts this impasse, arguing that a vibrant plurality of EPSs emerges once analytical pursuit is decoupled from normative associations with the EU project, and so from understandings of civil society and communicative democracy as axiomatic characteristics of an EPS. After discussing the limits of theorizing a singular public sphere converging on the EU, the empirical section of the article portrays a contrasting sphere of pan-European political traction, examining an ‘uncivil’ arena of anti-Muslim coalition-building and exchange. Noting parallels between this ‘uncivil’ pan-Europeanism and normative depictions of Europe's absent (civil, singular, and democratic) public sphere, the article suggests that a less pallid account of European political life emerges once the preoccupation with achieving deliberative coalescence yields to allow recognition (and study) of EPSs in the plural and contestual—as politically constitutive expressions of a multiplicity of open narrative claims and systems taking European conditions and destinies as their core.

Civil society and state-centred struggles

This article is about civil society and state-centred struggles in contemporary Zimbabwe. I first identify and outline three current understandings of civil society. Two understandings (one Liberal, one Radical) are state-centric and exist firmly within the logic of state discourses and state politics. A third understanding, also Radical, is society-centric and speaks about politics existing at a distance from the state and possibly beyond the boundaries of civil society. This civil society-state discussion frames the second section of the article, which looks specifically at Zimbabwe. It details civil society as contested terrain (from the late 1990s onwards) within the context of a scholarly debate about agrarian transformation and political change. This debate, which reproduces (in theoretical garb) the key political society (or party) fault-lines within Zimbabwean society, has taken place primarily within the restricted confines of state-centred discourses.

Beyond the Objectivist Conception of Civil Society: Social Actors, Civility and Self-Limitation

What I would like to do in this article is threefold. First, I would like to sketch the anatomy of the dominant perspective on civil society (which I call ‘objectivist’) by discussing its basic postulates. Second, I would like to highlight the main problems that are immanent to this conception. I will try to demonstrate the presence of certain blind spots, erasures and contradictions which are constitutive of this dominant understanding. I will argue for the need not so much to reject it outright but to try to transcend it by incorporating it in a wider and more encompassing framework. The attempt to achieve this constitutes the third part of the article where I propose an alternative conception of civil society that is based upon the orientations of social actors. My argument is that an alternative to the objectivist understanding involves treating civility and toleration as not simply being incidental but rather essential aspects of a proper understanding of civil society. The current literature's focus on non-state organizational capacity needs to be complemented by an analysis of the normative orientations of social actors along five distinct yet interrelated dimensions of civility. The perspective outlined here attempts to combine the ontological parameters of the dominant understanding of civil society with the normative criteria that usually get overlooked. It will be argued that, rather than being occasionally and unsystematically alluded to in passing, the specifically ‘civil’ property of social interactions should be recognized as the formative principle of civil society.