scholarly journals Civil Society Activism in Italy Across Different Fields: A Multifaceted Picture of Solidarity in Hard Times

2020 ◽  
pp. 61-89
Author(s):  
Nicola Maggini ◽  
Veronica Federico
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Civil Society Organisations ◽  
Policy Domain ◽  
Hard Times ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Social Vulnerabilities ◽  
Transnational Solidarity ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Over the last years, Italian civil society organisations have been working on a daily basis to mitigate the impact of both the global economic crisis and the refugee crisis, which have increased social vulnerabilities. Relying on the data gathered through 30 in-depth interviews with transnational solidarity organisations’ representatives, this chapter analyses solidarity practices in three fields of activity: disability, unemployment and migration. Results show that solidarity attitudes, practices and discourses are strongly influenced by the policy domain in which the organisations are active. Furthermore, the crisis led organisations to search for new strategies and approaches, even though it has been an ineffective vector of transnationalisation due to lack of resources, and the necessity to cope with pressing needs at national and local level/s.

scholarly journals Against the Tide: Transnational Solidarity in Brexit Britain

2020 ◽  
pp. 181-207
Author(s):  
Simone Baglioni ◽  
Olga Biosca ◽  
Tom Montgomery
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Civil Society Organisations ◽  
Transnational Solidarity ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
The Unemployed ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Funding Cuts ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract This chapter discusses UK-based civil society organisations supporting vulnerable groups (migrants, refugees and asylum seekers; disabled people; and the unemployed) which have been on the front line of a decade of austerity and funding cuts. It does so by exploring the relationship between these organisations and policymakers; the impact of austerity on the organisations themselves; the mission and activities of these organisations and the cooperation between organisations at different scales (transnational, national and local). Our findings reveal a tale of ‘two Britains’: one of top-down policies and discourses which are anti-solidarity and re-activate decades-old discourses of dependency and deservingness; and another Britain of grassroots solidarity, (self-)organised from the bottom up, often in partnership with austerity-hit local government.

scholarly journals Exploring the impact of farmer-led research supported by civil society organisations

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Waters-Bayer ◽  
Patti Kristjanson ◽  
Chesha Wettasinha ◽  
Laurens van Veldhuizen ◽  
Gabriela Quiroga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Civil Society Organisations ◽  
The Impact

CIVIL SOCIETY AS THE MAIN DRIVER SUSTAINABILITY OF COMMUNITIES IN CONDITIONS OF DECENTRALIZATION

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alla Orlova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
National Security ◽  
Financial Stability ◽  
Local Level ◽  
The State ◽  
Community Sustainability ◽  
Strategic Decisions ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Business Structures ◽  
The Impact

The article considers a set of issues related to the formation of sustainability in the state at different levels of government: national, regional and local, with an emphasis on the sustainability of territorial communities. The concept of "sustainability" is defined, the criteria of sustainability for national security and its components at the local level are analyzed, in particular, in the formation of affluent communities. Sustainability is considered in various aspects: as a component of national security and defense of the state, in relation to the concepts of "cohesion" and "national security". Financial stability is justified as an important sign of the viability of local communities. The role of civil society in shaping the sustainability of communities is revealed, as well as different views of scientists on the impact of civil society on sustainability are analyzed. The foreign experience of implementation of the basic principles of sustainability in the life of communities is studied. The most important component of sustainability is the ability of the community to consolidate to counteract harmful and dangerous external and internal influences. Open partnership of public authorities with business structures and the public should be a prerequisite for this. It is proved that in the conditions of decentralization and various internal and external challenges, civil society (active citizens and civil society institutions) can and should be a driver of community sustainability. It is assumed that the implementation of state policy to promote the development of civil society should create a solid foundation of democracy in Ukraine as a component of national sustainability. Since the systemic mechanisms for ensuring national sustainability in the Ukrainian state at both national and local levels are not yet fully formed, the development and implementation of comprehensive strategic decisions in this area requires proper scientific substantiation, which is why the author’s contribution to this topic.

Local Civil Society

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Mann ◽  
David Dallimore ◽  
Howard Davis ◽  
Graham Day ◽  
Maria Eichsteller
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Field Investigations ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
State And Local ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Focus Questions

Epdf and ePUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. Drawing on place-based field investigations and new empirical analysis, this original book investigates civil society at local level. The concept of civil society is contested and multifaceted, and this text offers assessment and clarification of debates concerning the intertwining of civil society, the state and local community relations. Analysing two Welsh villages, the authors examine the importance of identity, connection with place and the impact of social and spatial boundaries on the everyday production of civil society. Bringing into focus questions of biography and temporality, the book provides an innovative account of continuities and changes within local civil society during social and economic transformation.

scholarly journals Land, development and the political class: In a translocal ‘Londoni’ village

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-235
Author(s):  
Ashraf Hoque
Keyword(s):  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Land Development ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Class ◽  
Anthropology Of The State ◽  
Political Economies ◽  
And Migration ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

This article expands Akhil Gupta’s (1995, American Ethnologist, 22(2), 375–402) thesis of ‘blurred boundaries’ between ‘the state’ and ‘society’ in South Asia to incorporate the impact of historic labour migrations, which complicate established conceptions of the state in Bangladesh. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in an area of high migration to the UK, the article draws attention to a class of transnational politicians, and their intra-class conflicts of interest, in shaping local-level politics. The article supports Faguet’s (2017, Modern Asian Studies 51(6), 1668–94) contention that the decentralisation of local government has led to the emergence of vernacularised political economies that operate in the shadow of the state, which are also intrinsically facilitated by it. It suggests that state actors appropriate symbols, offices and resources, together with traditional authority and kinship dynamics, to create an idiosyncratic polity. Aspiration towards power that might lead to the occupation of state offices are determined by either the aspirant’s status as a British citizen (Londoni) or through intimate social and economic connections to Britain through kinship (gushti) networks. The article thus makes a broader contribution to the existing literature on the anthropology of the state, transnational politics and the nexus of power, money and migration in postcolonial contexts.

scholarly journals What drives Web 2.0 adoption in South African civil society organisations

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiru Pillay ◽  
Manoj S. Maharaj
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Web 2.0 ◽  
South African ◽  
Civil Society Organisations ◽  
Internal Reasons ◽  
Media Services ◽  
American Elections ◽  
The Impact ◽  
External Reasons

Background: The impact and consequences of social media adoption on society are only just being realised and studied in detail; consequently, there is no universal agreement as to the reasons for the adoption of these services. Even understanding why some social media services are popular remains to some extent elusive. The practical use of Web 2.0 does not provide any answers either with, for example, a noticeable difference in the way social media was strategically used by Barack Obama and Mitch Romney in the lead-up to the 2009 American elections. However, recent studies that have focused on social media adoption within specific sectors have begun to shed some light on these emerging adoption patterns; two studies in particular are illustrative: a 2012 study on the newspaper sector and a study on social media adoption and e-government.Objectives: This study investigates why South African civil society organisations (CSOs) adopt Web 2.0 services and the perceived and actual benefits of such adoption.Method: A survey questionnaire was sent to 1712 South African CSOs listed in the Prodder database to explore why certain social media services were adopted and the perceived benefits thereof.Results: Internal reasons for the adoption of social media services by South African CSOs coalesce around organisational visibility and access to information. External reasons focus on organisations needing to become more relevant and more connected to like-minded organisations and initiatives.Conclusion: The pervasiveness of Web 2.0 technologies makes it inevitable that CSOs will have to restructure themselves to remain relevant.

Approaches to Development in M4D Studies

2015 ◽  
pp. 26-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakob Svensson ◽  
Caroline Wamala Larsson
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Mobile Communication ◽  
Civic Participation ◽  
Developing Regions ◽  
Civil Society Organisations ◽  
Dialectical Approach ◽  
Economic Understanding ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Future Path

There is no doubt that the proliferation of mobile phones in developing regions has opened up a range of possibilities and new avenues for individuals, governments, development agencies and civil society organisations. But we also know that development is a disputed concept and conveys a range of different connotations. Therefore in this chapter we examine the areas, where mobile phones are discussed as vehicles for development (i.e. M4D), and how mobile communication is related to the idea(s) of development today. To examine this, we have reviewed M4D articles in three major conference series and open source journals during 2008-2012. Three dominant areas of M4D emerge out of our sample: livelihood, health and civic participation. We find that M4D is largely based on an economic understanding of development and biased towards techno-determinism. We conclude this chapter by suggesting a future path for studying the impact of mobile communication in developing regions, something what we label as a dialectical approach.

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