Parallel or dependent? The state, chieftaincy and institutions of governance in Ghana

2019 ◽  
Vol 118 (473) ◽  
pp. 628-645
Author(s):  
Edem Adotey
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
The State ◽  
Policy Frameworks ◽  
Traditional Authorities ◽  
Preferential Recognition ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Different Sources ◽  
Recent Policy

Abstract In recent policy frameworks, traditional authorities have been (re)assigned roles of directly representing civil society and local communities as key actors in development, leading to questions about the relationship between the chieftaincy institution and the state in governance. Using the example of a chieftaincy dispute between the Sokpoe and Tefle, a Tongu-Ewe people of Ghana, at the heart of which are claims to paramountcy status, this article argues that chieftaincy and the state are not always parallel institutions of governance that derive their legitimacy from different sources. Struggles over chieftaincy hierarchies have become struggles for the preferential recognition by and access to the state conveyed by membership in the Houses of Chiefs. In effect, the chieftaincy institution may be both parallel to and dependent on the state. The article draws attention to the importance of hierarchy in explaining state-chieftaincy relationships because an understanding of the nuances of legitimacy in chieftaincy will enrich how chiefs are engaged as key actors in development.

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.

Local Institutions at the Crossroads of Environmental Regionalism in Southeast Asia: State-Civil Society Interplays and Tensions

2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-54
Author(s):  
Antonio P. Contreras
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
The State ◽  
Local Institutions ◽  
The Social ◽  
International Interactions ◽  
Civil Societies

This paper inquires into the implications of the different discursive imaginations on civil societies and the state from the perspective of the social sciences, particularly political science and international relations. It focuses on some interfaces and tensions that exist between civil society on one hand, and the state and its bureaucratic instrumentalities on the other, particularly in the domain of environment and natural resources governance in the context of new regionalisms and of alternative concepts of human security. There is now a new context for regionalism in Southeast Asia, not only among state structures, such as the ASEAN and the various Mekong bodies, but also among local civil societies coming from the region. It is in this context that issues confronting local communities are given a new sphere for interaction, as well as a new platform for engaging state structures and processes. This paper illustrates how dynamic are the possibilities for non-state domains for transnational interactions, particularly in the context of the emerging environmental regionalism. This occurs despite the dominance of neo-realist political theorizing, and the state-centric nature of international interactions.

Civil society and the state

2020 ◽  
pp. 309-324
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Lugano
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
The State ◽  
Transformative Potential ◽  
State Authority ◽  
Organizational Relations ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Political Settlement

This chapter provides an overview of the relationship between civil society and the Kenyan state. It unveils two contradictory trends: civil society’s opposition to, and co-optation by/cooperation with, the state. The chapter argues that these tendencies are contingent on organizational positionality within the prevailing political settlement, which constitutes state authority. The trends further affirm the centrality of civil society in Kenya’s political settlements, and associated reflections of key societal divisions along ethnic and political lines that in turn help to shape organizational relations with the state and broader society. Overall, the checkered relationship between state and civil society supports both popular perceptions of the latter’s contributions to democratization, as well as concerns regarding its transformative potential.

scholarly journals Toward a Non-Androcentric Historical Analysis of Women’s Prisons: The Cases of Santa Fe and Buenos Aires (Argentina, 1924–1936)

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sol Calandria ◽  
Luis González Alvo
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Buenos Aires ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
The State ◽  
Correctional Institution ◽  
Santa Fe ◽  
Archival Research ◽  
Women's Prisons ◽  
State Agents ◽  
The Relationship

This article analyzes the administration of women’s prisons in Argentina during the process of state consolidation, using two prison cases: the Correctional Institution for Women (Santa Fe) and the Olmos Prison for Women (Buenos Aires). In both cases, the Sisters of the Good Shepherd’s administration faced resistance from several state and non-state agents. We revisit an old issue using a new gender approach to investigate the relationship between female punishment, civil society, the state, its agents. The aim is to contribute toward a historical, non-androcentric analysis of women’s prisons using archival research.

Value Orientations of Russian Youth in Interaction Models between the State and Civil Society

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-117
Author(s):  
Oleg Vladimirovich Lagutin
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Young People ◽  
The State ◽  
Value Orientations ◽  
State University ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
State Models ◽  
Multidimensional Methods ◽  
The Relationship

In the context of the formation of civil society in modern Russia with the traditionally significant role of the state, the problem of studying the inclusion of young people in a particular model of the relationship between these two institutions is of particular relevance. This choice will determine a certain type of political system in Russia in the future. The purpose of the study is to identify empirically groups of young people who are determined by the direction of value orientations in public life and their involvement in various models of interaction between the state and civil society. The empirical basis of the study was a project conducted in 2019 by Saint Petersburg State University and Altai State University to study the political consciousness of Russian youth. As a result of using multidimensional methods of analysis, the connection between the involvement of the citizen-state models and the types of value orientations of Russian youth is revealed. Four groups of young people were obtained, stratified by value orientations, the specifics of relations between the state and citizens of our country, and the choice of the preferred type of state to live in.

Civil Society and Philanthropy in Africa: Parallels, Paradoxes and Promise

2021 ◽  
pp. 089976402110574
Author(s):  
Ebenezer Obadare ◽  
Kelly Krawczyk
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Third Sector ◽  
The State ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Third Sector ◽  
The Relationship

Civil society and philanthropy in Africa are regularly theorized in formal terms and oft perceived as inherently democratizing forces. Yet, existing evidence exposes the limitations of these assumptions. This article provides an introduction to the symposium issue on civil society and philanthropy in Africa. The objective of the introduction, and the articles contained in the symposium, is to examine important questions related to civil society and philanthropy on the continent: What is the complex history and role of civil society and philanthropy in Africa? How have donor dependence and professionalization affected the effectiveness of the third sector? What are the contours of the relationship between the state and civil society? We ask these crucial questions in an attempt to provide a more nuanced and contextualized understanding of civil society and philanthropy on the continent.

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.

Staat und Zivilgesellschaft

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
The State ◽  
History Of Ideas ◽  
Modern State ◽  
Path Dependencies ◽  
Contextual Dependence ◽  
History Of ◽  
State Of Tension ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between the state and civil society can be characterised as complex, disharmonious and dynamic. The complexity results from the historical conditions of its origin and the different ways of thinking, grasping and structuring the relationship. The relationship is disharmonious because although it can theoretically be thought of as equal, this equality, in fact, hardly exists. The relationship is dynamic because it is in a permanent state of tension between the path dependencies of the history of ideas, and therefore can and must be constantly rethought. This anthology attempts to grasp and illuminate the relationship between the state and civil society in all its complexity by paying special attention to the contextual dependence of the genesis of this complicated relationship. With the emergence of the modern state based on sovereignty, the state entered into opposition with civil society. Modern political theory has devoted much of its energy to reflecting this antagonism and bridging the gap between the two. With contributions by Nelson Chacón, Julian Dörr, Christopher Gohl, Oliver Hidalgo, Heinz Kleger, Alexander Kruska, Antoine Lévy, Andreas Nix, Edwin QuirogaMolano and Michael Zantke.

scholarly journals ‘Traditional Authorities’ and Community Rights in Contemporary Mozambique: between Activism and Incorporation

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Battista Martino
Keyword(s):  
Political Institutions ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Convincing Evidence ◽  
The State ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
Discursive Strategies ◽  
Globalized Economy ◽  
Traditional Authorities ◽  
Ongoing Programme

Mozambique’s donor-inspired ongoing programme of ‘traditional authorities’ ‘(re-)integration’ carries considerable emancipatory potential for local communities in their relations with central political institutions and the globalized economy. By analysing ‘traditional authorities’’ specifically elaborated discourse and highlighting their agency within the dynamics emerging from state institutions’ attempts at ‘incorporating’ them in the sense indicated by Zenker and Hoehne, that is, to deny them all political auton-omy, this article aims to clarify ‘traditional’ leaders’ role in defending their own com-munities’ interests and rights vis-à-vis the state, private enterprises, and development actors/donors. Close examination of empirical data collected during field research in Inhambane province provides convincing evidence of traditional authorities’ general inability to develop effective discursive strategies for the representation and defence of their communities’ interests and rights. By choosing to retreat within the domain of spirituality and to cede much of their statutory prerogatives to more dynamic and bet-ter resourced actors, ‘traditional authorities’ end up accepting their ‘incorporation’ into the institutional structure of the state as merely symbolic objects and sources of inter-nal as well as international legitimacy, thus obliterating their role as natural repre-sentatives of their communities.

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