scholarly journals Global Civil Society from Hyperlink Perspective: Exploring the Website Networks of International NGOs

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Meier
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Global Civil Society ◽  
International Ngos

Global Civil Society, Peacebuilding, and Statebuilding

2021 ◽  
pp. 327-340
Author(s):  
Mary Kaldor ◽  
Denisa Kostovicova
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
International Law ◽  
Support Groups ◽  
Global Civil Society ◽  
Social Condition ◽  
International Networks ◽  
The Social ◽  
International Ngos ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Different Levels

This chapter grounds a definition of global civil society in the existence of international law and links with international networks of either international NGOs or support groups crucial for enabling civil society groups in postconflict countries to operate. Conceptualizing civil society in these global terms, the chapter critiques a technocratic approach to peace- and statebuilding that reduces the multitude of civil society actors to NGOs and their limited ability to address the social condition created by war. If the state of persistent disorder created by a combination of fragmentation and globalization is to be transformed, activist civil society needs to be regarded as a partner in countering sectarian and fundamentalist narratives and in increasing the accountability of corrupt elites. Activist civil society is underpinned by an assumption that protest, activism, debate, and deliberation are the main mechanisms for change. Linked up with international actors, it can provide the basis for a strategy for constructing legitimate institutions at different levels. By focusing on elites associated with the armed groups as participants in the peace talks in a top-down approach to conflict resolution, the international community has at least implicitly endorsed the marginalization of activist civil society. Reversing this relationship opens up new possibilities for reducing violence and for building peace.

Transnational Social Movements and Peaceful Change

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Milcíades Peña
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
Global Civil Society ◽  
Dynamic Processes ◽  
Transnational Social Movements ◽  
Relational Perspective ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Interactive Dynamic ◽  
Dominant Treatment

The chapter discusses the relationship between social movements and peaceful change. First, it reviews the way this relationship has been elaborated in IR constructivist and critical analyses, as part of transnational activist networks, global civil society, and transnational social movements, while considering the blind sides left by the dominant treatment of these entities as positive moral actors. Second, the chapter reviews insights from the revolution and political violence literature, a literature usually sidelined in IR debates about civil society, in order to cast a wider relational perspective on how social movements participate in, and are affected by, interactive dynamic processes that may escalate into violent outcomes at both local and international levels.

scholarly journals A People vs. Corporations? Self-determination, Natural Resources and Transnational Corporations in Western Sahara

2017 ◽  
pp. 15-66
Author(s):  
Raphaël Fišera
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Transnational Corporations ◽  
Global Civil Society ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Corporate Accountability ◽  
Media Campaigns ◽  
Western Sahara ◽  
Playing Field

Since the mid-1970s, the Western Saharan conflict has defied both resolution and understanding, as an entire people, split between refugee camps in the Algerian desert and the Moroccan occupied territory, has been waiting for the international community to effectively enforce its right to self-determination. Through a combination of legal and geopolitical perspectives on the issues related to the exploitation of the rich natural resources in the last African territory still to be decolonised, this research paper will argue that transnational corporations (TNCs) can directly affect the welfare and the self-determination of a people, while the means to enforce corporate accountability remain limited and poorly adapted to the current global realities. The recent media campaigns led by NGOs against TNCs active in this area demonstrate the key role of global civil society in the emergence of corporate accountability and in reminding individuals, corporations and governments of their ethical and legal obligations towards indigenous peoples such as the Saharawi’s. This paper will first consider the historical and socio-economic context of the conflict and the importance of natural resources in this dispute (chapter I) before addressing the legal dimension of the exploitation of these resources by the occupying power and third parties (II). I will then argue that the decision of Morocco to involve Western oil and gas TNCs in the Western Sahara represents a complicating factor to the conflict and has created a new, corporate playing field for the conflicting parties (III). The last chapter of this analysis will address the current political and legal mechanisms for ensuring the accountability of such TNCs and assess whether campaigns by global civil society actors provide an effective, alternative avenue for corporate accountability (IV).Published online: 11 December 2017

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document