scholarly journals Securing Social Governability: Party-Movement Relationships in Lula's Brazil

2015 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 567-593 ◽  
Author(s):  
HERNÁN F. GÓMEZ BRUERA
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
State Power ◽  
The State ◽  
Public Office ◽  
State Apparatus ◽  
New Interpretation ◽  
State Subsidies

AbstractThis article provides a new interpretation of the changes that occur in party-civil society relations when progressive parties of mass-based origin gain state power by looking at the experience of the Brazilian Workers’ Party (PT) during the Lula administration. The need to preserve what is defined here as ‘social governability’ changes the nature of party-movement relationships when political parties move from opposition to government. The article shows how the PT in national executive public office, to a large extent, managed to secure social governability through reward-based linkages, such as the distribution of jobs in the state apparatus and the allocation of massive state subsidies.

State Power in Mozambique

1978 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-11
Author(s):  
James H. Mittleman
Keyword(s):  
State Power ◽  
The State ◽  
Socialist Economy ◽  
National Liberation ◽  
Essential Factor ◽  
Ruling Class ◽  
Working Classes ◽  
State Apparatus ◽  
Political Act ◽  
Vexing Question

After winning a war of national liberation, FRELIMO faces the vexing question of whether socialism now can be established. With respect to Guinea-Bissau, Amilcar Cabral emphasized: ‘This depends on the instruments used to effect the transition to socialism; the essential factor is the nature of the state....“ No doubt his statement was premised on the belief that socialism begins with the conquest of the state by the producing classes. They must seize the state apparatus to defeat the ruling class whose power is concentrated there. Both the means of coercion and the forces that reproduce the system itself are part of this domain. It is only by gaining control of state power, which is a political act, that the working classes can subsequently organize a socialist economy.

Foucault and the state

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-164
Author(s):  
Stephen W. Sawyer
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
International Law ◽  
State Power ◽  
Global Civil Society ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Organization ◽  
Global Finance ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Global Capital ◽  
Popular Power

For those attentive to the epochal shifts of globalization, the state has been either serving global capital or on its way out for decades. Neo-liberalism prones new scales of economic and political organization and the promise of a global civil society while international law ostensibly undermines the traditional functions of state power. The inadequacy of the state has found an equally sharp echo among populists who have reaffirmed democracy at the expense of a robust state. And in an odd déjà-vu, social scientists are once again pushing elsewhere: the state would seem at once the all-powerful protagonist of global finance or entirely insufficient for integrating popular power in our contemporary democracies.

UNTIMELY HESITATIONS

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 831-840 ◽  
Author(s):  
KNOX PEDEN
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Political History ◽  
State Power ◽  
The State ◽  
Historical Inquiry ◽  
Young Hegelians

Intellectual historians owe Nietzsche a debt for many things, not least for lending the quality of “untimeliness” a positive connotation. In the late 1990s, when Marxism was arguably at its nadir as an intellectual program, much less a political one, Warren Breckman published an insightful study of Marx's early thought and its genesis out of a series of disputes with the Young Hegelians concerning the state and its ambiguous relationship with theological conceptions of authority. The untimeliness of Breckman's intervention had much to recommend it. Taking his distance from the pallbearers, Breckman showed that a historical inquiry into the Marxist enterprise increased rather than diminished its contemporary relevance. In the wake of the eastern bloc's collapse, “civil society” had become the order of the day. Breckman showed that, far from being an innocuous panacea to the terror of state power, the concept had its own contested political history, one that Marx grappled with in ways whose resonance has only grown in the decade since Breckman's first book appeared.

DITADURA E CLASSES SOCIAIS NO BRASIL: as organizações empresariais e de trabalhadores da indústria da construção durante o regime civil-militar (1964-1988)

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (27) ◽  
pp. 67-91
Author(s):  
PEDRO HENRIQUE PEDREIRA CAMPOS
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
State Policies ◽  
The State ◽  
Social Classes ◽  
Business Associations ◽  
Military Dictatorship ◽  
Brazilian Society ◽  
State Apparatus ◽  
Sociedad Civil

O presente artigo dedica-se a analisar a diná¢mica da sociedade civil brasileira ao longo da ditadura civil-militar (1964-1988), atentando para a trajetória das formas organizativas do empresariado e dos trabalhadores. Enfatizamos especificamente as formas de associação dos empresários da indústria da construção, percebendo como o Estado ditatorial agiu em relação a esses agentes, em contraste com a polá­tica direcionada aos operários do mesmo setor. Verificamos uma intensa repressão á s formas de organização popular durante o regime e livre funcionamento das associações empresariais, que se multiplicaram, fortaleceram-se e ampliaram seus canais de ação junto ao aparelho de Estado, com poder de pautar em certa medida as polá­ticas estatais implementadas no perá­odo. Concluá­mos que esse fenômeno levou á  redefinição da arena da luta de classes na sociedade brasileira e afetou a forma como se deu o processo de transição polá­tica e a correlação de forças com o advento da Nova República.Palavras-chave: Ditadura civil-militar. Estado ampliado. Sociedade civil.  DICTATORSHIP AND SOCIAL CLASSES IN BRAZIL: the business and labor organizations of the construction industry during the civil-military regime (1964-1988)Abstract: This article analyzes the dynamics of the Brazilian civil society during the civil-military dictatorship (1964-1988), considering the trajectory of the organizational forms of the businessmen and the workers. We specifically emphasize the forms of association of entrepreneurs in the construction industry, perceiving how the dictatorial State acted in relation to these agents, in contrast to the policy directed to the workers of the same sector. We verified an intense repression of the forms of popular organization during the regime and free operation of the business associations, which multiplied, strengthened and expanded their channels of action with the aid of the State apparatus, holding the power to govern, to some extent, the State policies implemented in the period. We conclude that this phenomenon led to the redefinition of the arena of class struggle in the Brazilian society and affected the way in which the process of political transition took place and the correlation of forces with the advent of the New Republic.Keywords: Civil-military dictatorship. Expanded state. Civil society.  DICTADURA Y CLASES SOCIALES EN BRASIL: las organizaciones empresariales y laborales de la industria de la construcción durante el régimen civil-militar (1964-1988)Resumen: El presente artá­culo se dedica a analizar la dinámica de la sociedad civil brasileña a lo largo de la dictadura civil-militar (1964-1988), atentando para la trayectoria de las formas organizativas del empresariado y de los trabajadores. Enfatizamos especá­ficamente las formas de asociación de los empresarios de la industria de la construcción, percibiendo cómo el Estado dictatorial actuó en relación a esos agentes, en contraste con la polá­tica dirigida a los obreros del mismo sector. Verificamos una intensa represión a las formas de organización popular durante el régimen y libre funcionamiento de las asociaciones empresariales, que se multiplicaron, se fortalecieron y ampliaron sus canales de acción junto al aparato de Estado, con poder de pautar en cierta medida las polá­ticas estatales implementadas en el perá­odo. Concluimos que ese fenómeno llevó a la redefinición de la arena de la lucha de clases en la sociedad brasileña y afectó la forma como se dio el proceso de transición polá­tica y la correlación de fuerzas con el advenimiento de la Nueva RepúblicaPalabras clave: Dictadura civil-militar. Estado ampliado. Sociedad civil.

‘What Will We Be without Them?’ Rural Intellectuals in the State and NGOs in Zimbabwe’s Crisis-Ridden Countryside

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 595-610 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Moore ◽  
Zenzo Moyo
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
The State ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
South West ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
State Organizations ◽  
The Many

Research on NGOs in rural Zimbabwe suggests that ideas of automatic opposition between ‘civil society’ and/or non-governmental organizations and authoritarian states are too simple. Rather, relations between state and non-state organizations such as those referenced in this article, in the rural district of Mangwe about 200 kilometres south-west of Zimbabwe’s Bulawayo, are symbiotic. This contrasts with urban areas where political histories have led to more contested state-civil society relations in the last two decades, during which social movements with a degree of counter-hegemonic (or counter-regime) aspirations were allied with many NGOs and opposition political parties. Gramsci’s idea of ‘rural intellectuals’ could complement the widely used notion of ‘organic intellectuals’ to examine the members of the intelligentsia appearing to be at one with subordinate groups in the countryside and at odds with the state. Likewise state workers distant from the centre and close to their class peers in NGOs as well as their ‘subjects’ may operate with autonomy from their masters in ruling parties and states to assist, rather than repress, citizens and also to co-operate with NGO workers. This research indicates that discerning how hegemony works across whole state-society complexes is more complicated than usually perceived, given the many regional variations therein.

scholarly journals IS THERE CIVIL SOCIETY IN BANGLADESH?

2018 ◽  
pp. 36-38
Author(s):  
M. S. Islam
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Social Development ◽  
The State ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Historical Method ◽  
The Government ◽  
And Control ◽  
Local Levels

Сivil society is a group of people excluded from the government and the army and providing a counterbalance and control of the state at the national and local levels in the country. In Bangladesh, since independence in 1971, civil society organizations have been successfully involved in social development, but they have been criticized not to be able promote democracy in Bangladesh because of their support for political parties. Therefore, it impedes strong opposition to corruption and non-democratic activities in the country. In this article, using the historical method, the author analyzes the features and role of civil society in Bangladesh.

scholarly journals «Activism» as a specific form of civil society influence on the state power in modern Ukraine

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 81-88
Author(s):  
A. K. Klyachin, Tit O.G.
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
State Power ◽  
Public Organizations ◽  
Specific Form ◽  
The State ◽  
Public Authorities

The General characteristics of the concept of civil society, outlined its functions, the main features, institutions and forms of interaction with public authorities. The category «activism» is considered as a means of civil society to effectively implement and protect the interests of society. On the basis of the analysis of activity of public organizations the attempt of conditional allocation of varieties of «activism»is carried out. It is determined which form of «activism» has the most real ability to influence public authorities.

scholarly journals Decentralization in self-government bodies

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 66-70
Author(s):  
Kateryna Malyuk
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Central Government ◽  
The State ◽  
Government Reform ◽  
State Apparatus ◽  
Country Formation ◽  
Voluntary Basis

The article analyzes the theoretical and practical aspects of decentralization as a foundation for the formation of local governments in Ukraine. The importance of introducing the reform of decentralization of power on the path of development of Ukraine as a democratic, social, legal state is proved. The activity of local self-government in the conditions of decentralization is currently a priority among the reforms in Ukraine, as new trends in state building of our country, formation of civil society institutions, optimization of the system of local self-government determine new conditions for decentralization. Traditionally, a constant view of decentralization as a process in which independent units that form the bearers of local self-government are formed in a centralized state requires the development of new approaches to the analysis of its content and, accordingly, the search for new opportunities to achieve the goal. The role of decentralization in the formation of the institution of local self-government is crucial. After all, decentralization is a kind of management system, in which part of the functions of central government is transferred to local governments. Decentralization is one of the forms of democracy development, which at the same time preserves the unity of the state and its institutions while expanding the possibilities of local self-government. It aims to activate the population to meet their own needs, to narrow the sphere of state influence on society, to reduce expenditures on the maintenance of the state apparatus. This process promotes direct democracy, as it involves the transfer of control of a number of local affairs directly into the hands of stakeholders. Thus, we can say that decentralization helps to build the civil society we so strive for. As a result of local government reform and decentralization of power, the basis of the new system of local self-government should be united territorial communities, which are formed on a voluntary basis in accordance with the statutory procedure with their own self-government bodies, including executive bodies. The reform should help improve the lives of Ukrainian citizens, as well as build a legal, modern, efficient and, most importantly, competitive European state.

Nature and the State Apparatus

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Whitehead ◽  
Rhys Jones ◽  
Martin Jones
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
The State ◽  
State Interaction ◽  
State Function ◽  
Antonio Gramsci ◽  
Social Formation ◽  
State Apparatus ◽  
State Organizations ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
State Form

The previous two chapters have examined key moments and sites of nature– state interaction and have argued for the need to explore the manifold contexts within which these linkages develop. This discussion proved useful as a way of highlighting the different ways in which modern states have sought to frame national natures through ideological and material processes, and began to illustrate the ideological and concrete impacts of national natures on state organizations. This chapter focuses on the ways in which nature has been incorporated into the state apparatus, as well as showing how the state apparatus has helped to frame national natures. When referring to the state apparatus, we mean the ‘set of institutions and organizations through which state power is exercised’ (Clark and Dear 1984: 45). The state apparatus is distinct from the state form, which refers to the relationship between a given state structure and a particular social formation, and the state function, which alludes to the ‘activities which are undertaken in the name of the state’ (Clark and Dear 1984: 37, 41). Despite the reference to a state apparatus in the preceding sentences, it is clear that it does not represent a singular entity. If, as Neil Brenner (2004: 4) maintains, a reference to the state in the singular misleadingly ascribes to it a unity and uniformity that it does not possess, then by the same token, we need to think about the state apparatus as something that is not singular in character. Gordon Clark and Michael Dear (1984) have emphasized the multi-faceted and plural nature of the state apparatus. The state apparatus, in this sense, comprises an agglomeration of different sub-apparatuses, which are the ‘collection of agencies, organizations and institutions which together constitute the means by which state functions are attained’, and para-apparatuses, namely those ‘auxiliary agencies’ that possess ‘some degree of operational autonomy’ (Brenner 2004: 49). The state apparatus ranges, therefore, from those bureaucracies charged with conducting the state’s executive functions to a plethora of agencies involved in its more mundane aspects of governance. For Antonio Gramsci, the state apparatus is even broader in scope, drawing in important aspects of civil society.

scholarly journals The influence of political parties on the development of civil society and the state

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (30) ◽  
pp. 32-39
Author(s):  
Dmytro Rozumeiko ◽  
Krystyna Zhebrovska ◽  
Lina Sushcha ◽  
Yuliia Kylymnyk
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Theoretical Method ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Will ◽  
Political Freedoms ◽  
Methodological Principles ◽  
Observation Method ◽  
Definition Of

The article examines the influence of political parties as an association of citizens on the emergence of civil society and the development of the state. The object of the study is to determine the political and legal significance of political parties as subjects of relations and their influence on the development of civil society and the state. The following methodological principles and methods were used as a basis for the study: the principle of historicism; the principle of systematicity; logical-theoretical method; structural and functional methods help to determine the nature of the influence of parties on the development of civil society; sociological methods (information analysis method, observation method). The purpose of this article is to determine the influence of political parties on the emergence of civil society and the state. It is stated that multiparty characterization is a characteristic of a democratic society, which is characterized by the institutionalized pluralism of political interests and where it is a practical realization of the basic political freedoms of citizens. The definition of the party, in addition to purely theoretical, has a practical character. After all, the presence in a particular organization of the features of the "party" depends on its respective legal status, its rights and obligations, a special functional position in the state mechanism. The authors conclude that the main institutional form of citizens' associations, which ensures the formation of their political will, as well as the expression of political will of different social groups in state bodies, are political parties, which is enshrined in the Constitution, laws and other normative - legal acts.

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