scholarly journals The Relationship between Foreign Aid and Democratization in Myanmar in respect to Civil Society

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Aye Mon Paing

<p>Since 2010, Myanmar has been making a transition to a democratic country after 40 years under successive military regimes. The semi-civilian government led by President U TheinSein has been in charge of Myanmar since the democratic reform is carried out. After Myanmar's new government has carried out its democratic reform for 2 years, international assistance has come in Myanmar to assist Myanmar's democratization in 2012 unlike before 2010. Western donors who were not active in providing aid in Myanmar became enthusiastic to help Myanmar's democratization in various ways. Civil society in Myanmar is still small and informally organized to participate as a strong actor in Myanmar's democratization. Democratic aid to nurture civil society in Myanmar, which has been repressed for long time, became an important aid to strengthen democracy in Myanmar.  This thesis will analyse the relation between democratic aid through civil society and democratization in Myanmar. It is based on recently completed in-country research involving document analysis and semi-structured interviews. The paper investigates what is the impact of democratic aid through civil society on Myanmar's democratization process.  The findings of this thesis indicate that democratic aid was not delivered in Myanmar under the successive military regimes to impose democratization. Democratic aid has started to be delivered again after the Myanmar government started its process of democratization mostly due to domestic factors, such as people's dissatisfaction with the military governments. When western donors started supporting the democratization process in Myanmar, they provided democratic assistance to sustain local civil society organisations in Myanmar in order to act as a check and balance to the Myanmar government and to make it more accountable to the citizens. Democratic assistance towards civil society has been promoting the role of civil society organisations in politics, creating a platform for communication between the government and local civil society organisations to increase the all-inclusiveness in Myanmar's democratization process. With the democratic assistance from western donors, local civil society organisations became more developed and started working as one of the check and balance actors in Myanmar's politics. Thus, democratic assistance to civil society has increased the sustainability of local civil society organisations in Myanmar to participate in the democratization process. However, democratic assistance to civil society has only started recently, in 2012, and there are challenges in providing assistance to civil society to promote democratization. If those challenges can be avoided in delivering aid to civil society, the assistance towards civil society can have a better impact on democratization in Myanmar.</p>

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Aye Mon Paing

<p>Since 2010, Myanmar has been making a transition to a democratic country after 40 years under successive military regimes. The semi-civilian government led by President U TheinSein has been in charge of Myanmar since the democratic reform is carried out. After Myanmar's new government has carried out its democratic reform for 2 years, international assistance has come in Myanmar to assist Myanmar's democratization in 2012 unlike before 2010. Western donors who were not active in providing aid in Myanmar became enthusiastic to help Myanmar's democratization in various ways. Civil society in Myanmar is still small and informally organized to participate as a strong actor in Myanmar's democratization. Democratic aid to nurture civil society in Myanmar, which has been repressed for long time, became an important aid to strengthen democracy in Myanmar.  This thesis will analyse the relation between democratic aid through civil society and democratization in Myanmar. It is based on recently completed in-country research involving document analysis and semi-structured interviews. The paper investigates what is the impact of democratic aid through civil society on Myanmar's democratization process.  The findings of this thesis indicate that democratic aid was not delivered in Myanmar under the successive military regimes to impose democratization. Democratic aid has started to be delivered again after the Myanmar government started its process of democratization mostly due to domestic factors, such as people's dissatisfaction with the military governments. When western donors started supporting the democratization process in Myanmar, they provided democratic assistance to sustain local civil society organisations in Myanmar in order to act as a check and balance to the Myanmar government and to make it more accountable to the citizens. Democratic assistance towards civil society has been promoting the role of civil society organisations in politics, creating a platform for communication between the government and local civil society organisations to increase the all-inclusiveness in Myanmar's democratization process. With the democratic assistance from western donors, local civil society organisations became more developed and started working as one of the check and balance actors in Myanmar's politics. Thus, democratic assistance to civil society has increased the sustainability of local civil society organisations in Myanmar to participate in the democratization process. However, democratic assistance to civil society has only started recently, in 2012, and there are challenges in providing assistance to civil society to promote democratization. If those challenges can be avoided in delivering aid to civil society, the assistance towards civil society can have a better impact on democratization in Myanmar.</p>


Religions ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 308
Author(s):  
Yohan Yoo ◽  
Minah Kim

This paper illuminates the prophetic consciousness of Korean Protestant leaders by examining the “Korea National Prayer Breakfast” (Gukgajochangidohoe, 국가조찬기도회) that they hosted, particularly during the military regimes. In explaining the motivation for and intention of this special religious event in the political arena, most scholars have emphasized the Protestant leaders’ political ambition and their agendas to get the government support and expand their power in Korean society. However, we should take heed of the leaders’ religious aspirations to make the country righteous in God’s sight. They attempted to have a good influence on the inner circle of the military dictatorship, which some Christians regarded as an evil force. Though they preached to and prayed for the military regimes, their sermons were often unpleasant and challenging to the presidents and their associates. The Protestant leaders wanted to play the role of John the Baptist rebuking Herod Antipas rather than the compliant chief priests and scribes serving Herod the Great.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qasim Ali Shah ◽  
Bahadar Nawab ◽  
Tahir Mehmood

Peacebuilding is a continuous process to transform conflicts into development opportunities for and by the stakeholders. This article explores the role of stakeholders in post-conflict peacebuilding in Swat. Applying Constructivist paradigm and Discourse Analysis, 80 semi-structured interviews were conducted by incorporating local community, civil society and the government. Study finds out that cultural, political, social and economic tiers of peacebuilding measures in Swat hardly achieved its purpose. The lack of institutional coordination and gaps in peacebuilding measures are important hurdles, which needs to be minimized for sustainable development processes in Swat.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 723-736
Author(s):  
Ida Susilowati ◽  
Fadhlan Nur Hakiem

AbstractCorona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been a hot topic since the end of 2019.  The virus, which was first discovered in Wuhan, has become a global security pandemic, namely health security that has an impact on economic security. The significance of the increase in covid-19 cases cannot be underestimated because it has caused hundreds of thousands of victims to die in approximately 6 months. Various national policies are implemented in each country to deal with it. This article seeks to present alternative policies for the government through a bottom up pattern, namely through the strength of civil society as the impact of the pandemic, which is integrated with local government policies, considering society as the foundation of a country's strength. The role of civil society here is focused on the role of women as one of the strategic agents of public policy dissemination, to increase public awareness of Covid-19 as an effort to reduce the number of Covid-19 cases. Women are considered to be able to play a dual role in a pandemic situation and have a strategic role through their families in increasing public awareness of Covid-19. So that by optimizing the role of women, it is hoped that they will be able to help the government in reducing the number of Covid-19 cases.Keywords: Role of Women, Covid-19 Pandemic, Alternative Policy, Civil Society AbstrakCorona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) menjadi trending topik sejak akhir 2019 hingga saat ini. Virus yang pertama kali ditemukan di Wuhan ini menjadi sebuah pandemi keamanan global, yaitu keamanan kesehatan yang berdampak terhadap keamanan ekonomi. Signifikansi peningkatan kasus covid-19 menjadi hal yang tidak dapat dianggap remeh karena telah menyebabkan ratusan ribu korban meninggal dalam waktu kurang lebih 6 bulan. Berbagai kebijakan nasional diterapkan di setiap negara untuk menghadapinya. Artikel ini berusaha untuk menyuguhkan kebijakan alternatif bagi pemerintah melalui pola bottom up, yaitu melalui kekuatan masyarakat sipil sebagai terdampak pandemi, yang diintegrasikan dengan kebijakan pemerintah setempat, mengingat masyarakat sebagai pondasi kekuatan suatu negara. Peran civil society disini difokuskan pada peran perempuan sebagai salah satu agen strategis sosialisasi kebijakan publik, untuk meningkatkan kesadaran masyarakat terhadap covid-19 sebagai upaya menekan angka kasus covid-19. Perempuan dinilai mampu berperan ganda dalam situasi pandemi dan memiliki peran strategis melalui keluarga dalam meningkatkan kesadaran masyarakat terhadap covid-19. Sehingga dengan mengoptimalkan peran perempuan, diharap mampu membantu pemerintah dalam menekan angka kasus covid-19.Kata Kunci: Peran Perempuan, Pandemi Covid-19, Kebijakan Alternatif, Civil Society


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-202
Author(s):  
Fait Muedini ◽  
Bryan Dettrey

This article investigates support for democracy after the overthrow of Egypt’s long-time President Hosni Mubarak. It specifically examines concerns prompting the protests and support for several democratic reforms in Egyptian governance. The results suggest corruption slightly outweighed the lack of democracy as a primary concern of Egyptians over the last few years. Specific democratic reforms such as a fair judicial system and the ability to criticize government receive significant support. Less support is found for equal rights for women and considerably less support for civilian control of the military. The article concludes with a discussion of how little support for providing civilian control over the military may represent an obstacle to a democratic transition. Democratic consolidations are more likely to be successful if democracy is “the only game in town”. 1 The role of the military in the ouster of Mubarak and now Mursi suggests the military has significant influence on Egyptian governance, with little support for altering this institutional arrangement.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 215-225
Author(s):  
Noora Ahmed Lari

Purpose: The State of Qatar has widely sought to include women in public life and has implemented several policies in order to improve gender equality in the workforce and fair distribution of development benefits. This study establishes how far the State of Qatar has achieved the equality of women in the workplace, since the initiation of new reform policies and agendas of modernisation in 1995. Qatari women in leadership positions still face major challenges in relation to cultural limitations and organisational constraints; these areas need to be further developed to improve the degree of gender equality and close the wide gap between the two genders in terms of economic rights and equal opportunities in the labour force. Methodology: This paper uses semi-structured interviews which were conducted with twenty-five women aged all of whom held senior management positions in a range of civil society and public sector organisations in Qatar at the time of the interview. The twenty-five participants who participated in the study ranged in age from 34 to 61 years. Main Findings: The findings suggest that Qatari women are helped by two forces: the support they are getting from the ruling family and the impact of reforms and social change in surrounding regions. Indeed, the slow pace of social reform is one of the common complaints of progressives. Implications/Applications: Therefore, focused, procedural steps should be taken to enforce adherence to frameworks by governmental institutions and to amend existing legislation to tackle the challenges faced by women. These steps include implementing some social policy recommendations in terms of establishing and funding women’s civil society organisations, integrating an evaluation and monitoring system in governmental organisations, promoting work/family policies, and initiating a feminisation policy in government organisations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-87
Author(s):  
Safdar Alia ◽  
Fatima Ali ◽  
Muhammad Atif

The Rohingya Muslims are living as the minority in Myanmar from a long time. Yet, they always faced discriminatory behaviour of Buddhist majority community and the government. The violation activities against minorities at sectarian basis continued from a long time but currently increased a lot. As a result, thousands of Rohingya refugees migrated towards other areas to protect their lives especially in Bangladesh. The proposed research is an attempt to investigate the real causes and consequences about Rohingya crises in Myanmar. The Rohingya ethnic cleansing mission started after the attack of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on the military of Myanmar. For the analysis of Human rights violation has been used deductive and qualitative research method through which find out the role of internal power of Myanmar and the international leaders and institutions to stop violence against Rohingya Muslims and the their ethnic cleansing


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Bennett

Purpose This paper aims to examine the positioning of tourism and logistics and the related impact of crime. Design/methodology/approach The study is exploratory in nature and draws extensively on related literature. Data were obtained through primary sources (semi-structured interviews, observation) and additionally draw on the researcher’s own professional experience. Findings The findings suggest that both tourism and logistics need a more rigorous security infrastructure and support to keep pace in the current global arena where the range and scale of crime is unprecedented. Research limitations/implications The limitation of this study is that the focus is specifically on the Caribbean – though the situation in the Caribbean is no different from international trends. Practical implications Jamaican society has been impacted by different forms of crime (drugs, domestic and political) over the past three decades. While tourism has been the major source of foreign exchange for the island, little attention has been given to the impact of crime on tourism. Logistics, like tourism, has been premised as the next agenda for economic growth for the island. Similar to tourism, security has not been emphasized in the promotion of the logistics hub. Therefore, the role of security should be a priority agenda for the country as it works towards establishing a global logistic hub. Social implications The social implication of this study is to sensitize both the government and local people on the importance of the tourism and logistics industry and the role that security will play in their sustainability. The proposed logistics hub and the special economic zones will probably double the employment opportunity provided by tourism. Finally, the paper will help inform government policy both at the national and local levels on attitudes to national and private security. Originality/value Little has been written on the role of security in tourism and logistics in the Caribbean. As a result, this paper is timely and makes a fresh contribution to what is known on the subject matter.


Author(s):  
Violetta Sergeevna Neznanova

The subject of this article is the impact of Orthodox Church upon the development of civil society in Russia. The goal is to reveal the role of the Orthodox Church within the structure of Russian civil society, analyze the evolution of civil society in Russia, shed light on interaction between the government and civil society, and demonstrate what unites the Orthodox Church and civil society in Russia. The article leans on the &ldquo;Fundamentals of Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church&rdquo;, data of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, public chamber of St. Petersburg, &ldquo;Center for the Development of Nonprofit Organizations&rdquo;, etc. The scientific novelty lies in disclosure of the role of Orthodox Church within the structure of Russian civil society; analysis of the evolution of civil society in Russia; clarification of the peculiarities of interaction between the government and civil society, as well as what unites the Orthodox Church and civil society in Russia. The conclusion is drawn that the role of Orthodox Church as the civil institution in political relations is defined by the following factors: 1) as the guardian of the highest religious values, the Church is the &ldquo;sense of conscience&rdquo; of the civil society; Church is the civil institution for defending the public interest; 3) Church is the interlink between the private and common interests, as well as ensures social integration; 4) Church is the guardian of not only personal faith, but collective identity as well. The religious majority tends to view their faith as a social &ldquo;ethics&rdquo;, while the religious minorities rather view it as ethnic affiliation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 191
Author(s):  
Najamuddin Khairur Rijal

This study examines the role of global civil society at the local level in climate change mitigation. Climate change issue is one of the global issues that is responded at the local level, as the impact of the problem concerns the universal livelihood of the world’s population. This study focuses on Earth Hour’s activities in the Malang region as a part of a global civil society. This research uses global civil society and its role in environmental governance as the analytical framework. The data are collected through documentation studies and interviews. The results show that Earth Hour Malang’s activities have three important roles in climate change mitigation efforts, namely information-based role, providing policy inputs to the government, and performing operational functions.


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