Indymedia in Belgium: the delicate balance between media activism and political activism

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 1031-1038
Author(s):  
Robin Van Leeckwyck ◽  
Pieter Maeseele ◽  
Maud Peeters ◽  
David Domingo
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Activism ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
European Countries ◽  
The Political ◽  
Media Activism ◽  
The Media ◽  
Original Website

Belgium was one of the first European countries to establish a local ‘national’ branch of the global Indymedia network. The diversity of those involved in this ‘national movement’ ultimately turned out to be both the strength of the original website and the cause of its decline. Indeed, due to political and organizational disagreement, many activists decided to create their own ‘local’ Independent Media Centre (IMC). This article distinguishes two perspectives on the role of Indymedia: the political activists saw Indymedia as a means to an end, as an instrument to discuss strategies and tactics, and to coordinate social movements and grassroots movements. The media activists, on the contrary, saw Indymedia as an end in itself, as a platform for civil society organizations to make their voices heard and facilitate democratic debate – in this vein, the experience of Indymedia.be was transformed into the alternative news site DeWereldMorgen.be.

Civil Society, Social Movements and the Irish State

2010 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peadar Kirby
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Political System ◽  
Free Market ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Social Partnership ◽  
Corporate Profit ◽  
Fianna Fail

This article develops a theoretical framework to consider the symbiotic relationship between civil society, social movements and the Irish state. Civil society, largely through social movements, laid the foundations for an independent Irish state in the half-century before independence. Following independence, the nature of the civil society–state relationship changed; civil society became much more dependent on the state. The article empirically traces the nature of society's relationship to the state since the 1920s, and examines the nature of the political system and its major political party, Fianna Fáil, the structure of the economy, and the dominance of particular understandings of the role of civil society and the nature of society itself. The period since the advent of social partnership in 1987 is examined; this period marks a new attempt by the state to co-opt organised civil society making it subservient to its project of the imposition on society of the requirements of global corporate profit-making. The more forceful implementation of a global free-market project by the Irish state since the 1980s, and the co-option of organised civil society into this project, has left huge space for an alternative to emerge, the potential of which was indicated by the success of the ‘No’ campaign in the 2008 Lisbon referendum campaign.

scholarly journals Det samiske sivilsamfunnet i Sametinget og i samepolitikken1

2021 ◽  
pp. 101-138
Author(s):  
Per Selle ◽  
Kristin Strømsnes
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Political System ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Role ◽  
Democratic System ◽  
Advocacy Role ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Relationship

A vibrant civil society is important in a democratic system, and society’s contact with, opposition to and control of the political system is crucial for the democratic system to survive. In this chapter we look at the relationship between the Sámi Parliament and Sámi civil society from several perspectives: those of the party leaders and representatives, the civil society organizations, and the voters. We find that Sámi interest and participation in civil society is at the same level as that of the population at large when we measure participation in Sámi and Norwegian organizations combined. We also find that the level and type of contact between the parties represented in the Sámi Parliament and Sámi civil society organizations is limited, and that little points to these organizations having an important advocacy role. Their control and opposition role is weak. We conclude that the political role of Sámi civil society is weak and challenging for the Sámi political system and democracy.

scholarly journals Parties and civil Society Organization in Libya Political Life

2021 ◽  
pp. 168-183
Author(s):  
الياس أبوبكر الباروني
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Identity ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Political Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
Grassroots Level ◽  
Islamic Parties ◽  
First Time

There is no doubt that the Libyan society is rich in its demographic and socio-cultural composition, but it was not accompanied by an effective and influential civil society. The tribe was the main controlling factor in the political arena through its political exploitation, especially during the period of Colonel Gaddafi's rule, Rejecting every political color under the pretext of "Who demonstrates other Islamic and civil parties , betrays," and "the partisan abortion of democracy," and the representation of the representation of the "and other political armaments abhorrent, a ranking of the aforementioned is the problem statement of the President’s question of: What is the nature of the role of parties and civil society organizations in political life?. The study aims to identify the emergence of political parties in Libya, clarifying the map of the Islamic parties involved in Libyan political life, and then highlighting the role of civil parties in Libyan political life, as well as standing in the reality of civil society organizations in Libyan political life. The study is a descriptive, descriptive method and a critical analytical approach to understand, study, describe and analyze the role of political parties and civil society organizations and their tools in shaping the political system of Libya, reaching the most important results which was recently created for the first time after the fall of Gaddafi reflected a competitive dynamic, but still lacks the ability to declare specific political programs and identify their political identity and position on current issues related to development issues that Libya seeks to achieve. Following the Libyan revolution in February, a large number of civil society institutions and organizations But it is still limited in activity and there is no presence in all regions of Libya, which reflects the initiative and seek to control the formation of gatherings and federations without having a practical translation at the grassroots level throughout the country.

scholarly journals Activism as political action in Uganda: The role of social media

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florence Namasinga Selnes ◽  
Kristin Skare Orgeret
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Political Activism ◽  
The Political ◽  
Media Freedom ◽  
The Media ◽  
Political Divide

The article discusses political activism in Uganda and the role of social media. It focuses on two specific cases, the 2011 ‘Walk-to-Work’ and the 2017 ‘Pads4Girls’ campaigns in order to contribute to better understanding of the ever-evolving dynamic between political activism and the media in such campaigns. A disputed presidential election in 2011 in Uganda prompted opposition politicians to call nationwide protests. The architects of the protests hoped this would eventually lead to the downfall of Museveni’s newly elected government. The ‘Pads4Girls’ campaign on the other hand, was spearheaded by a female academic activist and provoked unprecedented response from politicians across the political divide, activists and unaffiliated individuals who added weight to the campaign. The article’s discussions feed into a broader conversation on the interaction of media and politics in semi-democratic contexts such as Uganda, where attempts to curtail media freedom and freedom of expression are frequent.

Evaluating the Political Effects of Anti-slavery and Anti-trafficking Activism

2018 ◽  
pp. 60-78
Author(s):  
Joel Quirk
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Activism ◽  
The Political ◽  
Advocacy Networks ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Political Status ◽  
Political Effects ◽  
Forced Labour

This Chapter considers ‘what happens next’ once information has been collected. This in turn means focusing upon political activism. Drawing upon ideas and insights from existing works on social movements and advocacy networks, I consider some of the main ways in which ‘success’ or ‘progress’ have been – and, I would argue, should be – evaluated in relation to several recent high-profile forms of political activism targeting slavery, trafficking and forced labour. The principle argument that emerges from this analysis is that anti-slavery and anti-trafficking need to be regarded as one component of broader portfolio of practices, interests and ideologies, rather than a singular issue or civil society cause which is assumed to enjoy a separate and elevated humanitarian or bipartisan political status. There is consequentially a pressing need for researchers to made further efforts to help understand and refine the ways in which patterns of political activism and mobilisation can strategically target the underlying sources and conditions of forced labour, vulnerability and marginalisation.

The elimination of violence and terrorism in Iraq strategy

2019 ◽  
pp. 375
Author(s):  
Mona Ali Duaij ◽  
Ahlam Ahmed Issa
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
The State ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
Terrorist Organization ◽  
The Media ◽  
Causes Of Crime ◽  
Religious Aspect

All the Iraqi state institutions and civil society organizations should develop a deliberate systematic policy to eliminate terrorism contracted with all parts of the economic, social, civil and political institutions and important question how to eliminate Daash to a terrorist organization hostile and if he country to eliminate the causes of crime and punish criminals and not to justify any type of crime of any kind, because if we stayed in the curriculum of justifying legitimate crime will deepen our continued terrorism, but give it legitimacy formula must also dry up the sources of terrorism media and private channels and newspapers that have abused the Holy Prophet Muhammad (p) and all kinds of any of their source (a sheei or a Sunni or Christians or Sabians) as well as from the religious aspect is not only the media but a meeting there must be cooperation of both parts of the state facilities and most importantly limiting arms possession only state you can not eliminate terrorism and violence, and we see people carrying arms without the name of the state and remains somewhat carefree is sincerity honesty and patriotism the most important motivation for the elimination of violence and terrorism and cooperation between parts of the Iraqi people and not be driven by a regional or global international schemes want to kill nations and kill our bodies of Sunnis, sheei , Christians, Sabean and Yazidi and others.

Rights of the Child

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asha Bajpai
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
International Law ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Legal Definition ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
The Government ◽  
Definition Of

The chapter commences with the change in the perspective and approach relating to children from welfare to rights approach. It then deals with the legal definition of child in India under various laws. It gives a brief overview of the present legal framework in India. It states briefly the various policies and plans, and programmes of the Government of India related to children. International law on the rights of the child is enumerated and a summary of the important judgments by Indian courts are also included. The chapter ends with pointing out the role of civil society organizations in dealing with the rights of the child and a mention of challenges ahead.

A National Treasure? The Role of Civil Society in Promoting and Enforcing Human Rights in the United Kingdom

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harriet Samuels
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Negative Attitude ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Economic Rights ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Social And Economic Rights

Abstract The article investigates the negative attitude towards civil society over the last decade in the United Kingdom and the repercussions for human rights. It considers this in the context of the United Kingdom government’s implementation of the policy of austerity. It reflects on the various policy and legal changes, and the impact on the campaigning and advocacy work of civil society organizations, particularly those that work on social and economic rights.

The Role of Religious Force in the Wukan Incident

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hou Yuxin
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
The Political ◽  
The People ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Media ◽  
Social Management ◽  
The Village

Abstract The Wukan Incident attracted extensive attention both in China and around the world, and has been interpreted from many different perspectives. In both the media and academia, the focus has very much been on the temporal level of the Incident. The political and legal dimensions, as well as the implications of the Incident in terms of human rights have all been pored over. However, what all of these discussions have overlooked is the role played by religious force during the Incident. The village of Wukan has a history of over four hundred years, and is deeply influenced by the religious beliefs of its people. Within both the system of religious beliefs and in everyday life in the village, the divine immortal Zhenxiu Xianweng and the religious rite of casting shengbei have a powerful influence. In times of peace, Xianweng and casting shengbei work to bestow good fortune, wealth and longevity on both the village itself, and the individuals who live there. During the Wukan Incident, they had a harmonizing influence, and helped to unify and protect the people. Looking at the specific roles played by religion throughout the Wukan Incident will not only enable us to develop a more meaningful understanding of the cultural nature and the complexity of the Incident itself, it will also enrich our understanding, on a divine level, of innovations in social management.

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