scholarly journals State-Funded Activism: Lessons from Civil Society Organizations in Ireland

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-243
Author(s):  
Anna Visser
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Government Funding ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
State Funding ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Face ◽  
Working Together ◽  
Decision Making Processes

Civil society organizations (CSOs) in Ireland receive significant state funding and institutional support according to the logic that they are important contributors to democratic governance, with the effect that the CSO sector has expanded and become more embedded in formal decision-making processes over the past several decades. At the same time, dependency on government funding exposes CSOs to three important challenges: to stay true to activist mandates in the face of pressure from state funders to focus on service provision; to maintain accountability to constituents while also satisfying the vertically oriented accountability requirements of the state; and to nurture collaboration among CSOs in a context of competition for state funding. University-based activists, who are also reliant on (increasingly scarce) government funding, face similar challenges, and therefore should pay more attention to debates regarding state funding in the CSO sphere. By working together to overcome common challenges associated with state funding, activists in both spheres can more effectively contribute to progressive social change.

Rethinking Legitimation: Positional and Mediated Legitimation Processes for Croatian NGOs

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 475-498
Author(s):  
Laura J. Heideman
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Organizational Form ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Archival Data ◽  
Civil Society Organization ◽  
Political Transitions ◽  
Dominant Form ◽  
The Past ◽  
Multiple Audiences ◽  
New Type

How do new forms of organizations legitimate themselves? Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have emerged as a dominant form of civil society organization in the past 35 years, often in societies undergoing social and political transitions. This paper analyzes legitimation processes for NGOs in postwar and postcommunist Croatia using interview and archival data. Starting from a principle that legitimation is a process involving multiple audiences, I examine the mechanisms NGOs use to legitimate themselves to different audiences. I find that Croatian civil society organizations adopted the NGO organizational form to legitimate themselves to international actors, who in turn pressured the Croatian government to accept these organizations as legitimate. However, the actions NGOs took to legitimate themselves to international actors undermined their legitimacy with the Croatian public. This case demonstrates that legitimation is a challenging prospect for a new type of organization, especially given the fragile nature of mediated legitimacy and the conflicting priorities of different audiences.

Civil society in the Arab world: a reality that needs reforming1

2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baqer Salman Al-Najjar
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Arab State ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
The Past ◽  
To Come ◽  
Totalitarian Regimes

Arab experience of civil society is new, and because of the nature of the Arab state, it is difficult to find a single case in the region that is independent of the state and able to exert pressure on it. The case of Lebanon, when the Karami government was forced to resign in February 2005, will remain unique for some time to come. However, the fear of similar repetitions elsewhere has led to greater restrictions on civil society organizations, or it has led some Arab regimes to install their own organizations (GONGOS) to defuse the pressure from other organizations or to weaken their demands for democracy and transparency. The GONGOS were a typically Eastern and Russian phenomenon, and they quickly spread to a number of Arab countries that had experienced totalitarian regimes in the past and also to some of the countries in the Arab Mashreq and Maghreb, which have recently under gone a political transformation towards democracy.

Passing on the fire - To further inspire people to contribute to the management of animal genetic resources

2007 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
B. Kubbinga ◽  
I. Hoffmann ◽  
B. Scherf
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Genetic Resources ◽  
Financial Support ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Technical Conference ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
The Past ◽  
Animal Genetic Resources ◽  
History Of

SummaryIn light of the upcoming first International Technical Conference on Animal Genetic Resources (September 2007), experts have been interviewed to tell about their experiences in the management of animal genetic resources over the past fifty years. They identified three milestones in the history of Animal Genetic Resources (AnGR) management: the foundation of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (1973), the FAO/UNEP 1980 Technical Consultation on AnGR, and the signing of the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992). Conservation of AnGR started at grassroot level and eventually led to policies at governmental level. The passion of civil society organizations remains vital to conserve local livestock breeds. Technical and financial support will be crucial for the future of AnGR conservation. The next milestone will be a Global Plan of Action that is expected as one outcome of the International Technical Conference.

Resisting Democratic Backsliding: Malawi’s Experience in Comparative Perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 858-882
Author(s):  
Peter VonDoepp
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Comparative Perspective ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Collective Resistance ◽  
The Face ◽  
Democratic Rights ◽  
Action Theories

AbstractWhy does collective resistance to democratic backsliding emerge in some contexts and not others? The experience of Malawi in 2011–2012 offers an opportunity to explore this question. In the face of attacks on democratic rights and institutions, large-scale popular and civil society mobilization challenged the government’s authoritarian tendencies. Drawing on collective action theories and comparing Malawi’s experience to that of Zambia, VonDoepp argues that Malawi’s resistance arose in an environment that was favorable to its emergence. Economic conditions had generated grievances against government, polarization remained modest, and civil society organizations benefitted from credibility and the presence of allies that facilitated activism.

Policy analysis in civil society organisations

2018 ◽  
pp. 199-212
Author(s):  
Güneş Ertan
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Policy Analysis ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Civil Society Organisations ◽  
Current State ◽  
Combining Data ◽  
Decision Making Processes

This chapter is mainly concerned with providing a concise synopsis of the state of civil society in Turkey and an overview of the decision-making processes at civil society organizations (CSOs) by combining data from various empirical studies. The chapter begins with a discussion of the roots of weak civil society in Turkey followed by an illustration of the current state of civil society as a space. The chapter will then examine policy analysis practices in CSOs with a focus on prevalent decision making structures and the role of external funds in addition to agenda setting and evaluation processes. The chapter concludes by arguing that CSOs in Turkey are still yet to become effective implementers of policy analysis tools.

scholarly journals Party, State, Civil Society and Covid-19 in China

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Sidel ◽  
Ming Hu
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Nonprofit Sector ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
State Control ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
The Past ◽  
New Policies ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Party State ◽  
Restrictive Policy

Abstract In China, the story of Covid-19 and the relationship between government and civil society is not a sharp break from the past. China has long guided and controlled the development of civil society organizations, and that has not changed in the Covid era. Instead, the Covid era is a story of a continuation in restrictive policy, and responses to Covid have utilized those existing policies and regulatory framework rather than developing new policies for the Covid era. The Chinese story may thus somewhat different from others in this special issue. China is certainly not a story of, in the words of our issue editors, when “pluralist and social democratic visions fade.” The Chinese Party-state’s permission for the reemergence of some kinds of civil society organizations in China since the early 1980s has never been marked by pluralist and social democratic visions. Instead, it has been marked by Party and state control, and clear choices on what kinds of organizations to facilitate and which kinds to repress. That control-based framework has accelerated since the current administration came into office in 2012. Covid has neither upset that restrictive framework nor substantially altered it. Instead, the framework of differentiation and constraint employed by the Chinese state has adapted, in some ways, to the need to control Covid and to control public mobilization on it and against the Party-state. In this brief article we outline the framework of differentiation and constraint that the Chinese Party-state uses to control the Chinese nonprofit sector, and mention a few ways in which that framework has been used in the Covid era.

scholarly journals Advancement of the assistance and support system for victims and witnesses of criminal offences – the role of civil society organizations in Croatia

Temida ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-124
Author(s):  
Anamaria Drozdjan-Kranjcec ◽  
Maja Mamula
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Support System ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Efficient System ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Legislative Framework ◽  
The Republic

Legal and institutional framework of the system of support to victims of criminal offences as well as the significance of the Directive 2012/29/EU and its implementation in the legislation of the Republic of Croatia are elaborated in this paper. In addition, certain difficulties related to the victim support system in practice are identified. A new model of service provision to victims and witnesses of criminal offences through founding and active work of The Network of Support and Co-operation for Victims and Witnesses of Criminal Offences and its results after two years of work are presented. The role and importance of civil society organizations in this field are emphasized. The conclusion declares establishment of more quality system of assistance and support for victims and witnesses of criminal offences. A part of the system is supported institutionally through the activities within the Ministry of Justice and specially established departments within the courts. A part of support is ensured noninstitutionally through the work of The Network of Support and Co-operation for Victims and Witnesses of Criminal Offences. It is exactly that involvement of motivated, educated and dedicated civil society organizations turned out as a key factor in establishing the efficient system. We will be able to state that certain milestones are achieved after: 1) further development of the system as a whole which refers to amending and implementing the existing legislative framework, 2) establishing a larger number of departments within courts, 3) spreading the Network? s services to all counties in Croatia, and 4) strengthening capacity of organizations that are service providers. The key is to ensure the financial means for the Network? s activities, strengthening networking of all stakeholders and introducing systemical control of service provision quality for victims and witnesses on all levels.

scholarly journals The Crisis of Democratic Governance in Contemporary Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 109
Author(s):  
Auradian Marta ◽  
Utang Suwaryo ◽  
Affan Sulaeman ◽  
Leo Agustino
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
The Public ◽  
General Elections

This article attempts to discuss the practice of democratic governance in contemporary Indonesia. This study is essential since Indonesia is one of the countries transitioning from authoritarianism towards democracy following the fall of Suharto’s regime. This study shall answer whether democratic governance in Indonesia experiences a crisis, with a focus of analysis on the four dimensions of democratic governance, namely: (1) rule of law, (2) human rights, (3) civil society, and (4) elections and political process. This study applies a qualitative method by collecting data from document studies and literary studies. The findings in this study indicate that democratic governance in Indonesia experiences a crisis as evidenced by the remaining-weak legal supremacy in Indonesia, and the existence of violations of the implementation of human rights, eventually led to horizontal conflicts. The inability of civil society organizations to carry out their functions in democratization as an intermediary between the community and the state as well as to influence government policies for the public interest. Another recent weakness is there are still strong issues related to primordialism in the occasion of General Elections. This crisis of democratic governance shall bring Indonesia to "the decline of democracy" instead of democratic consolidation.

scholarly journals Reversing the Shrinking of Civic Spaces: Insights for Strategies to Expand and Strengthen Activism and Organizations in Mozambique

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 49-66
Author(s):  
Marcio Pessôa ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Contentious Politics ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
The Past ◽  
Civic Spaces ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
State And Market ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas

How can the shrinking of civic spaces be reversed? This article suggests an analytical approach to identify mechanisms that cause the shrinking of civic spaces in Mozambique, and presents a starting point for building strategies to react to this process. Based on interviews and participative observation in the field, it explores events and episodes where crucial issues or activists’ groupings were neutralised, and visits the theory of defiance in civil society, power and contentious politics to explain how the shrinking of civic spaces has been taking place in Mozambique in the past ten years. It is reasonable to state that activists need to cope with cultural and cognitive barriers in order to face the various expressions of state and market power in Mozambique. Civil society organizations need to work with their donors to create new forms of relationship together, where issues such as accountability, for example, do not put at risk civic spaces and projects that have made a positive difference to people’s lives. In addition, activists need to establish a joint lobbying focus for constructing a legal framework that facilitates the emergence of new civic spaces in urban and rural areas.

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