scholarly journals Venturing sustainability: Political lessons from civic engagement and transformative learning in Asia

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maharani Hapsari ◽  
Dicky Sofjan ◽  
Theodore Mayer
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
Underlying Structure ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Liberal Conception ◽  
Interpretive Analysis

Current studies on civic engagement offer a critical examination of global civil society's struggles for a sustainable future. The liberal conception of civic engagement sees citizens as voluntary and participatory political subjects in their capacity to achieve a sustainability agenda. In Asia, such conceptions meet with the complex nature of power relations. Using a Gramscian approach and interpretive analysis, this paper draws on the struggles for hegemony, where power relations manifest subtly in state policy, market economy and civil society domains. Learning from the transformative learning experiences of various civil society actors, this study argues that in Asian realities, civic engagement is deeply concerned with the underlying structure of power, forms of negotiation and power dynamics. Political asymmetry is often made implicit by the privileged or uncritically internalized in civic life. There is a need to examine civic engagement as part of "the political", in which antagonism and contradiction are constitutive to social change. Furthermore, civic engagement can, and does, stimulate citizens' deliberate and concerted action against inequality, injustice and indignity.

WACANA, KUASA DAN AGAMA DALAM KONTESTASI PILGUB JAKARTA

ALQALAM ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
Joko Priyanto
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Mass Movement ◽  
Power Structure ◽  
Hegemonic Discourse ◽  
Islamic Society

Religion Blasphemy addressed to Jakarta Governor who is also a candidate for Jakarta Governor Election 2017 is the beginning of a series of polemic along process of Jakarta Governor Election 2017. This case triggers friction between Islamic society as a civil society and government as authority. This research explored this case by using theory of power relations Foucault. The result shows that the mass movement of Islamic society is power from Islamic society knowledge. Power structure tries to discipline this movement by hegemony in form of discourse. However, hegemonic discourse from civil society (Islamic society) also tries to challenge. The fight of hegemonic in form of discourse becomes so viral in all media, element and institution. This research shows that the discourse of Leader and Diversity is a signifier empty which be contestation of giving meaning.   Keywords: knowledge, power, Foucoult, religion.

scholarly journals A Nation of Organizers: The Institutional Origins of Civic Voluntarism in the United States

2000 ◽  
Vol 94 (3) ◽  
pp. 527-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theda Skocpol ◽  
Marshall Ganz ◽  
Ziad Munson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
The United States ◽  
Institutional Form ◽  
Current Discussion ◽  
Institutional Origins ◽  
Membership Associations

We challenge the widely held view that classic American voluntary groups were tiny, local, and disconnected from government. Using newly collected data to develop a theoretically framed account, we show that membership associations emerged early in U.S. history and converged toward the institutional form of the representatively governed federation. This form enabled leaders and members to spread interconnected groups across an expanding nation. At the height of local proliferation, most voluntary groups were part of regional or national federations that mirrored the structure of U.S. government. Institutionalist theories suggest reasons for this parallelism, which belies the rigid dichotomy between state and civil society that informs much current discussion of civic engagement in the United States and elsewhere.

Ethnic Conflict and Civil Society: India and Beyond

2001 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 362-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashutosh Varshney
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Ethnic Conflict ◽  
Ethnic Violence ◽  
The People

Scholars have worked either on civil society or on ethnic conflict, but no systematic attempt has yet been made to connect the two. In an attempt to explore the possible links, this article makes two interconnected arguments. First, interethnic and intraethnic networks of civic engagement play very different roles in ethnic conflict. Because they build bridges and manage tensions, interethnic networks are agents of peace. But if communities are organized only along intraethnic lines and the interconnections with other communities are very weak (or do not exist), ethnic violence is then quite likely. Second, civic networks, both intra- and interethnic, can also be broken down into two other types: associational forms of engagement and everyday forms of engagement. This distinction is based on whether civic interaction is formal or not. Both forms of engagement, if robust, promote peace: contrariwise, their absence or weakness opens up space for ethnic violence. Of the two, however, the associational forms turn out to be sturdier than everyday engagement, especially when confronted with attempts by politicians to polarize the people along ethnic lines. Both arguments have significance for theories of ethnic conflict and social capital.

Made in Basel? A commentary on the contemporary art world in Asia

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-186
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Waters
Keyword(s):  
Contemporary Art ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Art World ◽  
Sociocultural Perspective ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Global Power ◽  
Recent Emergence ◽  
Made In

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the recent emergence of contemporary art in Asia from a macro, sociocultural perspective. Design/methodology/approach This commentary is based on secondary research and recent visits to contemporary art centres in major cities across Asia. Findings The author argues that contemporary art in Asia emerges by extension of the Western contemporary art world and suggests that more must be done if Asia is to create a contemporary art world that is both internationally recognised and distinct from its Western precedent. Originality/value This commentary debunks the hyperbole surrounding contemporary art in Asia as a regional phenomenon and provides a critical examination of the global (power) dynamics at play.

Parenthood and civic engagement

2020 ◽  
pp. 81-108
Author(s):  
Esther Muddiman
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Role Model ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Transition To Parenthood ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Good Citizenship ◽  
The Family ◽  
Family Home

In this chapter, Esther Muddiman draws on qualitative data from interviews with 20 parents of teenagers to explore how parenthood disrupts, complements and triggers various types of civic engagement. The chapter describes how becoming a parent can limit an individual’s ability to maintain their commitment to existing voluntary activities/associational memberships, disrupting previous ties to civil society. However, it also finds that parenthood provides new opportunities for engagement, especially via educational institutions and parental networks; and that the transition to parenthood itself can lead individuals to reflect on their own relationship to society and the values that they would like to pass on to their children: the desire to role-model ‘good citizenship’ within the family home can act as a gateway for participation in civically-minded practices.

scholarly journals Creating spaces for change: Engaging civil society to harness change in criminal justice practice

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trish McCulloch ◽  
Mark Smith
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Effect Change ◽  
Prison Populations ◽  
Justice Practice

In a context of neoliberal penality, crime is falling yet prison populations continue to rise. Governments profess to recognise the problem yet have had little impact on underlying trends in criminal justice practice. This article reports on a Scottish initiative to try and disrupt this cycle through broadening the base for deliberation upon justice matters to include civil society. In so doing, we sought to build upon an emerging civic engagement evident in the wake of the 2014 Independence Referendum. Our premise was that to effect change requires that we look beyond policy fixes to the values and the socio-cultural drivers that take practice in particular directions. We conclude with a reflection on the obstacles to change.

scholarly journals The Power Game: Power Dynamics between the Teacher and the Students in a Graduate Seminar

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gihan Sidky
Keyword(s):  
Power Relations ◽  
Literacy Learning ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Teaching Perspectives ◽  
Graduate Seminar ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
Power Game ◽  
Teachers Training ◽  
Different Cultures

This study investigated power relations in a graduate seminar on Literacy learning and knowledge acquisition. Three categories were examined in relation to ideological assumptions: students’ expectations, institution’s expectations, and teachers’ perceptions of their roles as guided by their teaching perspectives. The study aimed at identifying how those aspects shaped by ideological perspectives influenced the interviewed teachers’ viewpoints about power dynamics. It also addressed the dominance of the mainstream norms over those of the minority students coming from different cultures. The issue of voice in relation to diversity was discussed as an important factor that shaped power relations in classroom discourse. A critical perspective was adopted throughout the paper with the purpose of advocating a pedagogical stance that would encourage the empowerment of students and build upon their diversity. Through the study of field notes and audio tapes of interviews and classroom interactions, three main factors seemed to have contributed to teachers’ perceptions of power relations within classroom settings. The factors were: students’ expectations, institutions’ expectations, and teachers’ perceptions of their roles. Regarding issues of voice, participants seemed to have come to a consensus concerning reasons that might have led to persistence on teachers’ part to students’ conformity to mainstream norms, which they explained in terms of limitations in most teachers training in dealing with diversity.

The Unique Aspects of Organisation Development in the Social Sector

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-369
Author(s):  
Mustafa Moochhala ◽  
Tejinder Singh Bhogal
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Motive Force ◽  
Theory Of Change ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Social Sector ◽  
Organisation Development ◽  
Access To Health ◽  
The Social ◽  
Organisational Structures

At its best, the work of the social sector is about changing society—the underlying norms, attitudes and power relations—and at the very least, ameliorating some of the ills present, for example, paucity of access to health or food. It is this desire for change or amelioration that provides the motive force for organisational members. To build this motive force, organisation development (OD) interventions need to work on some or all of the following: building greater ownership of organisational staff through tweaking governance methods and organisational structures, (founder-led or an institutionalised structure); mirroring expected norms within community with those observed in the organisation; having clarity about the vision of the community; working with organisational dilemmas; and having a clear theory of change. The last implies building and understanding the complex nature of society and social change and interventions therein; and as a corollary, a culture of debate and thoughtfulness.

scholarly journals Reconceptualising political participation

Human Affairs ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yerkebulan Sairambay
Keyword(s):  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
Social Activities ◽  
Web 3.0 ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Political Actions ◽  
Civil Societies

AbstractThis article offers a critical examination of various interpretations of “political participation” and shows that there is a lack of consensus among scholars concerning the definition of this particular concept. The lack of consensus has led to various conflicting outcomes (even when applied to the same problem) in the research on political participation. The main purpose of this paper is to offer a new definition of political participation that effectively addresses the challenges facing modern civil societies and the emerging era of Web 3.0. The present study argues that “civic engagement” should be differentiated from political participation such that the former is not counted as part of the latter; civic engagement fosters political participation and refers entirely to social activities. Moreover, I argue that online political actions should be accepted as an integral part of political participation if they fulfil all of the criteria of the phenomenon as defined in this article.

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