Internet Public Spheres, Civil Society Organisations and the State in the Zimbabwean Crisis: A Case Study of Kubatana.net’s e-newsletters

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 25-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mandlenkosi Mpofu
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
The State ◽  
Public Spheres ◽  
Civil Society Organisations

FUNDAMENTALISM, BUREAUCRATIZATION, AND THE STATE'S CO-OPTATION OF RELIGION: A JORDANIAN CASE STUDY

2006 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard T. Antoun
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Middle East ◽  
The State ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Half Century ◽  
The Past ◽  
Equal Duration ◽  
Past Half Century ◽  
Past Half

In the Middle East over the past half-century, three religious processes have grown together. One, the growth of fundamentalism, has received worldwide attention both by academics and journalists. The others, the bureaucratization of religion and the state co-optation of religion, of equal duration but no less importance, have received much less attention. The bureaucratization of religion focuses on the hierarchicalization of religious specialists and state co-optation of religion focuses on their neutralization as political opponents. Few commentators link the three processes. In Jordan, fundamentalism, the bureaucratization of religion (BOR), and state co-optation of religion (SCR) have become entwined sometimes in mutually supportive and sometimes in antagonistic relations. The following case study will describe and analyze the implications of this mutual entanglement for the relations of state and civil society and for the human beings simultaneously bureaucratized and “fundamentalized.”

Enduring Peace: a Case Study of the Opportunities and the Challenges for Engaging in Myanmar’s Peace Process

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-136
Author(s):  
José María Arraiza ◽  
Sara E. Davies
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Peace Process ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Personal Safety ◽  
International Organisations ◽  
Implementation Gap ◽  
Civil Society Organisations ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Specific Barriers

In 2015, the Myanmar Government, the Myanmar Tatmadaw (military) and eight ethnic armed organisations (eaos) signed the 2015 National Ceasefire Agreement (nca). In 2019, this agreement was signed by three more eaos, and there have been four annual conferences (Union Peace Panglong Conference 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019). The ceasefire arrangements, which are present primarily in Southeast Myanmar, have failed to make significant progress in key areas such as the provision of access to civil documents and land to returning refugees, displaced persons and conflict-affected communities. Violence has escalated in the last two years. It is not an exaggeration to say that Myanmar is at a critical juncture of transition. This article examines how the peace process is being communicated amongst different civil society organisations, international organisations, donor organisations, and government representatives in an area directly affected by the peace process. The article details the experiences of these participants exchanged in workshop in Mon State in July 2018. The exchanges during the workshop reveal a practical obstacles faced by civil society organisations, especially, in their attempt to support returnees. Many reported frustration with the implementation gap between promoting a peace process and providing for local enabling conditions that support peace. Specific barriers faced by civil society organisations, and in turn the communities they are seeking to help were threefold: information and communication barriers concerning the peace process; women’s fear and reluctance to seek services due to personal safety concerns, and the persistence of traditional gender norms which affects access to information.

Capital punishment and virtual protest: A case study of Singapore

First Monday ◽  
2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasmin Ibrahim
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Capital Punishment ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Authoritarian State ◽  
Civil Society Organisations ◽  
The Government ◽  
Media Discourses

This paper analyses how the online community in Singapore protested against the hanging of a Vietnamese drug trafficker in December 2005. Singapore has upheld capital punishment in the island state despite pressure from local and global civil society organisations and diplomatic channels. This paper traces how the online medium was used by the public to protest against capital punishment in the quasi–authoritarian state. The virtual community protested against the hanging by maintaining a rigorous discursive protest on the Internet. These sustained discourses became enmeshed with those of the offline media in Singapore. This confluence of the online and offline media discourses is important in building a two–tier public sphere in Singapore. The first–tier public sphere is one dominated by the government-controlled media and the ruling party while the second–tier public sphere is a space where civil society organisations and social movements express viewpoints marginalised in the offline society. The confluence of these two tiers has a material significance for the political landscape of Singapore. This paper explores this phenomenon through the case study of online protests against capital punishment in Singapore.

scholarly journals The Legal Framework for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in Cameroon by Non-Governmental Organisations

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-45
Author(s):  
Alvine Longla Boma
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
The State ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Civil Society Organisations ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
The Right

Civil Society organisations play key roles in African countries. This is not an exception in the Cameroonian dispensation. Indeed, the existence and operation of civil societies in this jurisdiction is legitimated by a 1990 law allowing the free formation of associations. Even though the state has the primary obligation to promote and protect human rights, there also exists a plethora of associations with the same interest. This paper is motivated by the state’s wanton failure in ensuring the enjoyment and fulfilment of the right. For one thing, the state has maintained a stronghold on the Civil Society through legislation which gives public authorities a leverage over human rights defenders. Moreover, an analysis of existing legal and institutional frameworks available to allow human rights non-governmental organisations thrive, leaves much to be desired. Findings reveal that though there are adequate laws and institutions which ensure the creation and functioning of Civil Society organisations in Cameroon, there are also contradictory laws which give the public authority an edge over these organisations and allow them to sanction the activities of some human rights defenders under the guise of maintaining public order. We argue that there should be adequate protection offered to human rights defenders as well as the relaxation of laws permitting public authorities to illegally sanction the activities of relevant non-governmental organisations.

Civil Society in Kuwait: Challenges and Solutions

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Z. Al-Zuabi
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
The State ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
Civil Society Organisations ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World

Abstract Civil society organisations are an integral part of today’s societies throughout the world. They are the main partners of the state, along with the private sector, in the process of developing civil society. Here, we analyse various aspects of the social development of Kuwaiti society, the development strategies of the state, the challenges faced, and the role of civil society organisations by gathering and assessing information using structured questionnaires and statistical methods. The results reveal that civil associations are indispensable in the sustainable development of the state, especially considering the current economic and social challenges experienced in human societies. The study identifies internal and external challenges associated with implementing market-controlling mechanisms and directives for multifarious development under the private sector without inhibiting its growth. The article concludes by identifying the dominant obstacles and challenges development programs of Kuwait face and defines a set of mechanisms capable of solving those challenges effectively.

scholarly journals Towards Addressing the Challenges Bedeviling the Strategies of Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’a Wa’iqamatis-Sunnah in the Democratization Process of Katsina State-Nigeria

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Musa Kabir Umar ◽  
Muhammad Ainuddin Iskandar Lee bin Abdul ◽  
Kamarul Zaman Bn Hajj Yusouf
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
The State ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Civic Association ◽  
Empirically Supported ◽  
Personal Experiences

The paper investigates the challenges bedeviling the strategies of an Islamic civil society organization known as Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’a Wa’iqamtis-Sunnah [JIBWIS] popularly known as Izala in the democratization process of Katsina State-Nigeria with a view to proffering solutions. A lot of problems have been militating against the efforts of Izala Islamic civil society association towards improving the quality of the democratic order. As a case study qualitative research inquiry, the study was conducted through an in-depth semi-structured interview with 18 key informant’s personal experiences on the phenomenon. Analysis of data was done by using NVivo 12 which significantly aided in the coding, categorization and data management which produced the themes and sub-themes. System theory was used as a framework in the explanation of the phenomenon. The study found out that there are myriads of problematic issues related to the strategies used by the Izala organization; which negates their strategies in the democratization process. Furthermore, the study has identified the various ways in which such strategies could be strengthened for the Islamic organization to give a positive impact on the advancement of the democratization process in the State. Thus, the study presents a conceptually and empirically supported framework to describe the strategies of Islamic civic association in the democratization process of the state. In effect, therefore, the lingering Izala strategy’s crises in the democratization process was explored and analyzed. The study is particularly useful for religious civil societies, politicians, policy-makers, and researchers by identifying and proposing the ways in which the state, political parties, religious organizations, and other democratic stakeholders should conduct and relate in a nascent democratizing society. The analysis points toward the potential for change in the strategies of Izala Islamic civil society in the democratization process.

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