The southern European NICs

1986 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 547-556
Author(s):  
P. Nikiforos Diamandouros
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
International Political Economy ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Newly Industrializing Countries ◽  
Policy Choices ◽  
Course Of Action ◽  
General Proposition ◽  
External Pressures ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Of Greece

To interpret the responses of Greece, Portugal, and Spain to changes in the international political economy over the past decade, I would like to borrow eclectically from the conceptual frameworks developed by both Ellen Comisso and Peter Katzenstein. From the former, I take the stress on the centrality of politics and choice and the notion that state structures create the possibility for a course of action without determining the action itself. From the latter, I retain the general proposition that during periods of hegemonic decline those possibilities for choice widen and include the option of changing state structure itself. To these I would add that the nature of options, the flexibility of response they imply, and the realm of choice itself depend heavily on the level of development of a particular state and civil society as well as on their relationship with one another. The more negative and less reinforcing the relationship, the more the respective needs of civil society and state will conflict. The greater the conflict, the more circumscribed the range of options available to political actors. In the case of the southern European newly industrializing countries (NICs), the changing articulation between civil society and the state and the external pressures influencing it inform both the evolution of domestic structures and the policy choices of elites within them.

scholarly journals Have You Ever Seen the Void? Interest Groups Concerns Toward the Weakening Representational Role of Political Parties in European Countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Chiara Fiorelli
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Party System ◽  
Political Conflict ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Policy Choices ◽  
Democratic Life

Contemporary democracies face a trend toward the diffusion of the representational void left by under- legitimized political parties (Mair 2013). The essential functions of traditional political parties to organize and articulate political conflict and societal interests have been challenged both from the inside of the party system, by the emergence of populist habits of newcomers, and from the outside, by the progressive erosion of old political culture and corresponding increasing of hostility feeling. Intermediaries organizations of political and economic interests usually push their demands toward political actors in order to shape policy choices. What can happen when the traditional party system suffers from de- legitimation? In this paper, I will try to understand the level of concern of interest organizations toward the progressive detachment of civil society from political actors, in order to define if the risk of a void of representation is perceived as real and contingent. Thanks to a new original European dataset (the Comparative Interest Groups Survey), the analysis shows that different types of interest groups perceive the void to be real and with a possible impact on their activities and their own survival. As expected, in the regression model, differences emerge between countries with a traditional strong interests’ system and countries where groups activities are usually barely regulated. The results support the idea that the distance between civil society and political representatives should be considered a prominent focus of contemporary social and political investigation in order to understand the challenge for democratic life and the possible strategy of reaction.

US–China Relations in the Contemporary Era: An International Political Economy Perspective

Politics ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 192-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Roden
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Critical Theory ◽  
International Political Economy ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Ideas And Institutions

The subject of US–China relations has been examined from a number of perspectives but has rarely been exposed to a critical theory approach. This article argues that US–China relations must be understood at the structural/global level as well as in terms of the interaction of political actors. In this way a broader understanding of US hegemonic power and its relation to China can be developed. This also requires moving beyond viewing the relationship in bilateral terms and taking into account the role of ideas and institutions in the international political economy (IPE).

scholarly journals Have You Ever Seen the Void? Interest Groups Concerns Toward the Weakening Representational Role of Political Parties in European Countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Chiara Fiorelli
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Party System ◽  
Political Conflict ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Policy Choices ◽  
Democratic Life

Contemporary democracies face a trend toward the diffusion of the representational void left by under- legitimized political parties (Mair 2013). The essential functions of traditional political parties to organize and articulate political conflict and societal interests have been challenged both from the inside of the party system, by the emergence of populist habits of newcomers, and from the outside, by the progressive erosion of old political culture and corresponding increasing of hostility feeling. Intermediaries organizations of political and economic interests usually push their demands toward political actors in order to shape policy choices. What can happen when the traditional party system suffers from de- legitimation? In this paper, I will try to understand the level of concern of interest organizations toward the progressive detachment of civil society from political actors, in order to define if the risk of a void of representation is perceived as real and contingent. Thanks to a new original European dataset (the Comparative Interest Groups Survey), the analysis shows that different types of interest groups perceive the void to be real and with a possible impact on their activities and their own survival. As expected, in the regression model, differences emerge between countries with a traditional strong interests’ system and countries where groups activities are usually barely regulated. The results support the idea that the distance between civil society and political representatives should be considered a prominent focus of contemporary social and political investigation in order to understand the challenge for democratic life and the possible strategy of reaction.

Transnational Social Movements and Peaceful Change

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Milcíades Peña
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
Global Civil Society ◽  
Dynamic Processes ◽  
Transnational Social Movements ◽  
Relational Perspective ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Interactive Dynamic ◽  
Dominant Treatment

The chapter discusses the relationship between social movements and peaceful change. First, it reviews the way this relationship has been elaborated in IR constructivist and critical analyses, as part of transnational activist networks, global civil society, and transnational social movements, while considering the blind sides left by the dominant treatment of these entities as positive moral actors. Second, the chapter reviews insights from the revolution and political violence literature, a literature usually sidelined in IR debates about civil society, in order to cast a wider relational perspective on how social movements participate in, and are affected by, interactive dynamic processes that may escalate into violent outcomes at both local and international levels.

scholarly journals Trade, Politics, and Democratization: The 1997 Global Agreement Between the European Union and Mexico

2000 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 35-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Antonio Sanahuja
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
International Political Economy ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Negotiation Process ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Association Agreement ◽  
Economic Association ◽  
Trade Politics ◽  
Global Agreement ◽  
The Relationship

Mexico and the European Union signed a new Political and Economic Association Agreement in December 1997 and ultimately a free-trade agreement in March 2000, aiming to establish a new model of relations with a more dynamic trade and investment component. This article analyzes the 1997 agreement as background to the final accord. Economic and political changes in the 1990s modified both parties’ participation in the international political economy, helping to overcome some of the structural obstacles to the relationship. The policy toward Latin America adopted by the EU in 1994 was influential. The negotiation process revealed divergences over the scope of the liberalization process and the so-called democracy clause.

scholarly journals Reflections on the Relationship between the Government and Civil Society Organizations during the Covid-19 Pandemic: The Israeli Case

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hillel Schmid
Keyword(s):  
Health Economic ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Financial Support ◽  
Strategic Behavior ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Power Dependence ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract The paper analyzes the relations between the government and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel. The paper presents the inconsistent policy of the government, which has been influenced by various interest groups and the very limited financial support allocated to CSOs during the health, economic and social crisis. The paper describes the government’s alienated attitude toward the CSOs as well as the reasons for that behavior. Special attention is devoted to the government’s misunderstanding of the mission and roles of CSOs in modern society, especially at times of crisis and national disasters. The paper also analyzes the organizational and strategic behavior of CSOs toward the government, which has also contributed to the alienated attitude of the government toward them. I argue that relations between CSOs and the government should be based on more trust, mutuality, and understanding on the part of both actors in order to change power-dependence relations, and that there is a need to establish more cross-sectoral partnerships for the benefit of citizens.

Eine komplexe Friedenstheologie und Friedensethik

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland Mierzwa
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
The State ◽  
Ethical Approach ◽  
Difficult Question ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Preferential Option ◽  
Religionless Christianity ◽  
The Relationship

Peace has to be thought of in a more complex way, which is mainly stimulated by women from civil society. Many questions can no longer be addressed in a thematically and politically isolated or delimited way; chains of action and challenges are too interwoven. So far, too little attention has been paid to the preferential option for the poor, the approach of religionless Christianity and a feminist-liberation-theological-pacifist approach. Topics that are more marginal, such as a peace-ethical approach to money and the relationship between peace and health, are also addressed. Finally, the difficult question of how far one may still cooperate with the state when one is on the trail of peace is explored.

scholarly journals Judicial Institutionalization and Judicial Activism of the Post-Communist Constitutional Courts

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirill M. Bumin
Keyword(s):  
Executive Power ◽  
Contextual Influences ◽  
Constitutional Courts ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Constitutional Review ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Policy Choices ◽  
Policy Goals ◽  
Accession Process ◽  
Decision Making Behavior

In applying constitutional review, post-communist constitutional courts are affected by the existing political and institutional environments, as well as by their own institutional capabilities. However, our understanding of the activity of the post-communist constitutional courts remains incomplete because the existing research fails to consider how the institutional changes on these courts affect their decision-making behavior. In this study, I examine the activity of nineteen post-communist constitutional courts during the 1992-2006 period. I use an aggregate, time-series measure of judicial institutionalization to show that higher levels of institutionalization enhance these constitutional courts’ ability to pursue their policy goals and influence the degree to which they invalidate policy choices of other major political actors, while lower levels of institutionalization limit the courts’ impact on legal and political issues. The findings of this analysis thus provide the first empirical confirmation of the importance of judicial institutionalization to the policy outputs of the post-communist constitutional courts. I also illustrate how various institutional and contextual influences, such as executive power, legislative fragmentation, economic conditions, EU accession process, the identity of the litigants, and the nature of the litigated issues, influence the activity of post-communist constitutional courts. 

Does Civil Society Matter? Governance in Contemporary India

2006 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 456-457
Author(s):  
Reeta Chowdhari Tremblay
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
North America ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
New Delhi ◽  
Actual Case ◽  
The North ◽  
Fresh Perspective ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Theoretical Conceptualization

Does Civil Society Matter? Governance in Contemporary India, Rajesh Tandon and Ranjita Mohanty, eds., New Delhi: Thousand Oaks, London: Sage Publications, 2003, pp. 363.In the last decade in North America, there has been an explosion of books on the subject of civil society. Like so many other concepts in contemporary political science, the notion of civil society has been imported to analyze other polities outside the North American hemisphere, and India is no exception. However, Tandon and Mohanty's edited book presents a fresh perspective by combining academic analysis with that of on-the-ground practitioners to examine the relationship between civil society and governance. The book is divided into two parts: the first deals with the theoretical conceptualization of civil society and the second with actual case studies.

scholarly journals NGOs and Civil Society: The Politics of Crafting a Civic Welfare Infrastructure in the Hu–Wen Period

2018 ◽  
Vol 237 ◽  
pp. 58-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jude Howell
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Government Contracts ◽  
Welfare Provision ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Institutional Politics ◽  
Regulatory Changes ◽  
Poverty And Inequality ◽  
State Actor ◽  
Service Oriented

AbstractSince 2015 rights-based NGOs, lawyers, feminists and journalists have endured the most stringent crackdown since 1989. Simultaneously the Xi Li administration has pushed forward a series of laws, policies and regulatory changes to enable service-oriented NGOs to apply for government contracts to provide welfare services. This seemingly Janus-like policy of welfarist incorporation can be traced back to the Hu–Wen period, often described as a lacklustre period, despite significant efforts to tackle issues of poverty and inequality. This article argues for a more balanced appraisal of this period by exploring in depth the complex politics underpinning efforts to pluralize welfare provision by involving service-oriented NGOs. It explores three sets of politics influencing this policy process: inter-institutional politics; state/non-state actor politics; and domestic/external politics. Furthermore, it considers processes of gradual institutional change adopted by key political actors to achieve these ends.

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