Governing Civil Society in Nigeria and Zimbabwe: A Question of Policy Process and Non-State Actors’ Involvement

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace Chikoto-Schultz ◽  
Kelechi Uzochukwu
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Advocacy Coalition ◽  
Associational Life ◽  
Official Policy ◽  
State Actors ◽  
The Right

AbstractSovereign nations have the right to regulate the activities and operations of civil society organizations (CSOs) within their jurisdiction. The nature of official policy controls bears important implications for the breath and health of associational life, to the degree that they are relaxed, restrictive, or intrusive. Since nations in Africa have often been seen to subvert the growth and impact of CSOs, this article traces the policy controls that govern CSOs in Nigeria and Zimbabwe. Within the context of policy change, the article employs the Advocacy Coalition Framework in an effort to trace the policy process in these two countries. It particularly focuses on CSOs-focused policies and on clarifying the role and influence of non-state actors. Although political elites continue to dominate the policy process, non-state actors increasingly permeate the process through various formal and informal strategies, including the use of venues and influencing public opinion. Overall, CSOs-focused policies reflect distorted beliefs originating from the West’s preoccupations with a homogeneous, governance-focused African civil society.

scholarly journals Civil Society Organizations and Policy Process in Tajikistan

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew I.E. Ewoh ◽  
Favziya Nazarova ◽  
Rhonda N. Hill
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Civil Society Organizations

The Advocacy Coalition Framework

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paúl Cisneros
Keyword(s):  
Policy Change ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Belief Systems ◽  
The United States ◽  
Advocacy Coalition Framework ◽  
Advocacy Coalitions ◽  
Forthcoming Article ◽  
Advocacy Coalition ◽  
Policy Subsystems ◽  
Theoretical Foundations

This is an advance summary of a forthcoming article in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics. Please check back later for the full article. Paul Sabatier and Hank Jenkins Smith introduced the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) in the late 1980s, to refine the theoretical and methodological tools available for the study of the policy process. In the past two decades, the framework has grown in use outside the United States, and it is now applied to study a broad range of policy arenas in all continents. ACF scholars have created a core community that regularly synthetizes findings from applications of the framework, giving the ACF the form of a true research program. The ACF has three principal theoretical domains: advocacy coalitions, policy subsystems, and policy change. Expectations about the interactions between and within these domains are contained in 15 main hypotheses. The ACF posits that advocacy coalitions and policy subsystems are the most efficient way to organize actors interested in the policy process for empirical research. The policy subsystem is the main unit of analysis in the ACF, and there are four paths leading to policy change. The aspect that has received more attention in existing applications is the effect that external events have on policy change, and some areas in need of refinement include: policy-oriented learning, interactions across subsystems, the theoretical foundations to identification of belief systems, and how the interactions between beliefs and interests affect coalition behavior.

scholarly journals Civil Society Organisations and LGBT+ Rights in Bangladesh: A Critical Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-208
Author(s):  
Paul Chaney ◽  
Seuty Sabur ◽  
Sarbeswar Sahoo
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Frame Analysis ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Periodic Review ◽  
Civil Society Organisations ◽  
Universal Periodic Review ◽  
Contemporary Situation

This article explores civil society organizations’ (CSOs) views on the contemporary situation of LGBT+ people in Bangladesh. It is a lacuna requiring attention because of the country’s poor and deteriorating equality and human rights record. Here we analyse the level of attention to prevailing human rights violations and apply critical frame analysis to the corpus of CSOs’ submissions to the United Nations third cycle Universal Periodic Review (UPR), 2013–2018. These reveal how a series of key pathologies—including, violence, intimidation and discrimination—affect the lives of LGBT+ people. The wider significance of this study lies in highlighting that, while not a replacement for justiciable rights, the discursive processes offered by the UPR are of key significance in seeking to advance LGBT+ rights in countries like Bangladesh where oppression combines with extremism and political elites’ refusal to embrace equality in relation to gender identity and sexual orientation.

scholarly journals Research on Policy Change Based on Policy Process Theory—A Case on “Ban E-Bike” Policy in Guangzhou

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiying Su ◽  
Feng Feng
Keyword(s):  
Policy Change ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Innovation Policy ◽  
Process Theory ◽  
Policy Network ◽  
Multiple Streams ◽  
Advocacy Coalition ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Policy Termination ◽  
Multiple Streams Framework

Policy change includes policy innovation, policy succession, policy maintenance and policy termination, which involves result-orientation and process-orientation. The former focuses on scope and direction of policy change itself, and the latter are those factors affecting policy change. Based on policy process theory, multiple streams framework describes the pre-decisive process; advocate coalition and policy network theories explain interactive process from ideas and interests of different actors. Taking “ban e-bike” policy in Guangzhou as a case, to analyze why it arrived on government agenda by multiple streams framework, and explore policy process integrated advocacy coalition with policy network theory, could explain why the policy was repeatedly prohibited, why this policy change process was from single “ban riding” to more stringent “five bans”. Results show the reasons for policy maintenance and continuation that policy is inconsistent with relevant criteria, relative closed policy community, difficult to reconcile different beliefs between support-coalition and opposition-coalition, and lack interaction among network actors for differences in resource and power.

scholarly journals Can EU Civil Society Elites Burst the Brussels Bubble? Civil Society Leaders’ Career Trajectories

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 86-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayeon Lindellee ◽  
Roberto Scaramuzzino
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Environmental Policy ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Career Trajectories ◽  
Revolving Doors ◽  
The Eu

The Brussels-based civil society organizations (CSOs) have been conceived by the EU to act as a bridge between the bureaucratic elites and the citizens of Europe. The institutionalized presence of the major EU-based CSOs has, however, called their legitimacy into question, as exemplified by notions such as ‘revolving doors’ implying homogeneous social, educational, and professional backgrounds shared by both EU officials and CSO leaders. This article therefore asks the following questions: To what extent do the leaders of EU-based CSOs merely reproduce the types of capital that mirror those of the political elites in the so-called ‘Brussels bubble’? To what extent do the CSO leaders bring in other sets of capital and forms of recognition that are independent of the Brussels game? How can we explain differences in the salience of EU capital found across policy areas, types of leadership positions, and types of organizations? Empirically, this article qualitatively analyzes the career trajectories of 17 leaders of EU-based peak CSOs that are active in social and environmental policy areas. Despite the highly integrated and institutionalized characteristics shared by all organizations, we find diversity in the composition of the leaders in terms of the extent to which their career trajectories are embedded in the EU arena.

Applying the Human Rights Framework Is Not “a” Development Alternative; It Is “the” Road to an Alternative Development Process (People’s Health Movement Latin America)

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 562-567
Author(s):  
Claudio Schuftan
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Road ◽  
Hands On ◽  
The Press ◽  
Human Rights Movement

Historically, political elites adopted the idea of human rights if, and only if, it could foster their interests. Today, it is thus public interest civil society organizations, and not states, that are left to contribute most to the protection of and the struggle for human rights. Despite human rights being enshrined in constitutions, nowadays they can primarily be effectively claimed by those with access to the courts and by the press, i.e., those in power. Public interest civil society organizations and social movements are the only ones left to play this crucial role. The need for the global human rights movement to bridge the gap that has opened up between itself and the majority of the public is clear. Communications in the human rights domain simply have to become less legalistic and more hands-on. To claim their rights, those rendered poor need real power. Those who have been left poor and oppressed do not ever get to actively claim their rights. Instead they ask for mercy, expect charity, and seek benefits from benevolent masters.

scholarly journals Legal aspects of interaction of public organizations with local self-government bodies

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (8) ◽  
pp. 15-23
Author(s):  
O. V. Turii
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Public Affairs ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Political Activity ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
The Right

The article deals with the basic legal acts defining the procedural aspects of the interaction of local self-government bodies with non-governmental organizations. Particular attention is paid to the coverage of international acts ratified by Ukraine and regulates the issues of such cooperation. The article highlights the dependence of the development of local self-government on the civil and political activity of the population. A detailed study of problems in the relationship of local self-government with citizens, associations of citizens, mass media and other civil society institutions has been formulated, proposals have been formulated to improve the solution of identified problems. As a result of the research, the author concluded that the main problem on the way of democratization of the national legislation of Ukraine is the inactive and ineffective participation of the public in the formation and implementation of state policy. The European Convention on Human Rights determines that the state must ensure the right of citizens to participate in the management of public affairs in order to establish a democratic and legal society, however, there are no mechanisms established by law for such participation. Investigation of the existing regulatory framework in Ukraine to ensure basic legal guarantees of citizens’ participation in the development and implementation of management decisions by local self-government bodies proves that not only these guarantees are not detailed, but also none of the existing normative acts establish clear procedures for ensuring the rights of citizens from the bodies of local self-government information regarding the issues discussed and regulated by these bodies, adopted regulatory acts, projects and mechanisms for the adoption of achymyh decisions for society. The article contains a number of concrete proposals for solving the problems of forming the basis of cooperation between local self-government bodies, the legal regulation of control and supervision activities in the field of local self-government, conflict resolution between local self-government bodies and civil society organizations, improvement of legal regulation of liability for non-compliance with legislation on civil cooperation society with local self-government bodies.

Part IX Principles of Governance, Ch.53 Participation

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dingwerth Klaus ◽  
Nanz Patrizia
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Transnational Civil Society ◽  
Technological Means ◽  
The Right ◽  
Opening Up ◽  
Special Case

This chapter examines citizen participation in international organizations (IOs). The focus on citizen participation builds on the understanding of participation as a principle of governance in democratic theory. It begins by summarizing and reflecting upon the major patterns of participation for IOs. It then deals with the special case of European Union (EU) governance in which participatory rights are most thoroughly enshrined at the international level. Evidence suggests that the greater inclusion of transnational civil society organizations enhances the plurality of views that enter international decision-making processes. Together with the enhanced skills and technological means available to civil society, the opening up of IOs thus gives a broader range of affected communities a chance to voice their interests on issues such as climate change and the rules that should guide world trade. Within the EU, the ‘democratic minimum’ that allows citizens to make use of participatory opportunities is guaranteed for a much broader range of citizens. In such a context, institutionalizing the right forms of participation can do more if done properly.

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