scholarly journals The Development of Civil Society in Post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Pierobon
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
The Past ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Development Trajectory ◽  
Low Levels

In the past two decades, scholars from a variety of disciplines have argued that post – communist civil society is weak and structurally deficient and is characterised by low levels of social trust, voluntary organisational membership, and public participation. This article intends to challenge this academic consensus by providing an in-depth analysis of civil society development in Kyrgyzstan, a country, whose non-profit sector has been described as the most vibrant and plentiful of the Central Asian region. To this scope, the article analyses the ways and extent to which the national and international environments have influenced the development trajectory of Kyrgyz civil society. Special emphasis is placed on the specific forms and manifestations of civic engagement characterising the non-profit sector of the selected country and on the strategies it has implemented to overcome its weaknesses and vulnerabilities. The paper sheds new light on factors and features that have contributed to the strengths of Kyrgyz civil society and which can be used to increase our understanding of civil society developments in other transition countries.

Collaboration, Complicity, and Historical Memory

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia M. Horne
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
Historical Memory ◽  
Secret Police ◽  
Truth Telling ◽  
The Past ◽  
Shed Light

The widespread complicity evident in the post-communist cases complicates approaches to transitional justice because it lays some of the blame on society. Lustration procedures use information in secret police files to shed light on the past. Those files contain information documenting how neighbors, friends, co-workers, and even relatives might have informed on you. There is a potential for such revelations about the scope of the interpersonal and institutional betrayals to undermine social trust and civil society. This chapter explores the problems associated with complicity and transitional justice measures by examining the cases of Hungary, Romania, Poland, and Bulgaria. The cases highlight how historical memory is affected by negative revelations about the past. These cases illustrate how rising nostalgia can collide with truth telling, forcing the reconsideration and sometimes revision of historical memory.

Attachment to Facebook and the civic lives of minority college students in the United States

First Monday ◽  
2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Dalisay ◽  
Matthew Kushin ◽  
Masahiro Yamamoto ◽  
Yung-I Liu ◽  
Wayne Buente
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
The United States ◽  
Emotional Attachment ◽  
Urban University ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Minority College Students ◽  
Online Political Participation

A survey of minority college students attending an urban university in the U.S. Midwest was conducted to examine the links between emotional attachment to Facebook and levels along key civic indicators. Results suggested that minority college students’ emotional attachment to Facebook is positively associated with their off-line and online political participation, social trust, and neighborliness, but not with their off-line and online civic engagement. Also, the findings indicate moderate levels of emotional attachment to Facebook, off-line civic engagement, off-line political participation, and social trust, and low levels of online civic engagement and online political participation among minority college students.

Civil Society Development and Democratic Values in Romania and Moldova

2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 316-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Bădescu ◽  
Paul Sum ◽  
Eric M. Uslaner
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Democratic Values ◽  
The Public ◽  
Mass Public ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Civil Society Development

Does civic engagement lead to democratic values such as trust and tolerance? This is the claim of the literature on social capital. Using surveys of the public and organizational activists the authors conducted in Romania and Moldova in 2001 with the support of the Starr Foundation, they investigate these linkages. In both countries, they find low levels of civic engagement, trust, and tolerance for the mass public. They also find little support for the argument that participation leads to greater trust and tolerance among the mass public. However, they find considerably higher levels of trust, tolerance, and engagement among organizational activists and suggest that this elite may help transfer democratic values to the larger population. It is disconcerting that such activists constitute minuscule proportions of the population in both countries.

scholarly journals Literature and lustration: Rebuilding social trust through literature

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
European Literature ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Holocaust ◽  
Categorical Responses ◽  
To Come ◽  
Communist Countries ◽  
Legal Processes

How do nations, communities and individuals seek to restore individual meaning, social justice and social trust in the wake of traumatic histories? While international legal models have underpinned the processes of lustration in ex-communist countries, other forms of coming to terms with the past have contributed to the rebuilding of social trust in these environments. Literature has taken a role both in preparing the ground for more formal politico-legal processes, and in problematizing single-answer, simplistic or categorical responses to the complex issues of guilt, responsibility, complicity, victimhood and suffering in these societies. The significant new role that European literature has taken since the Holocaust is to come to terms with the past as a record not merely as a history, but as a responsibility and thereby to participate in the processes of lustration and rebuilding of civil society that have formed contemporary Europe.

scholarly journals CIVIL SOCIETY; Upaya Menciptakan Masyarakat Madani

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nur Rohim Yunus
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
The State ◽  
Essential Condition ◽  
Significant Element ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Participation In Decision Making ◽  
Social Associations

Abstract: Civil society is a significant element in building democracy. One essential condition for democracy is the creation of public participation in decision-making processes carried out by the state or government. Civil society requires civic engagement, namely the involvement of citizens in social associations. Civic engagement allows the growth of openness, trust and tolerance among one another.Keywords: Civil Society, Civil Society, Civil SocietyAbstrak: Masyarakat madani merupakan elemen signifikan dalam membangun demokrasi. Salah satu syarat penting bagi demokrasi adalah terciptanya partisipasi masyarakat dalam proses-proses pengambilan keputusan yang dilakukan oleh negara atau pemerintahan. Masyarakat madani mensyaratkan adanya civic engagement yaitu keterlibatan warga negara dalam asosiasi-asosiasi sosial. Civic engagement ini memungkinkan tumbuhnya sikap terbuka, percaya, dan toleran antara satu dengan lainnya.Kata Kunci: Civil Society, Masyarakat Madani, Masyarakat Sipil

Civil Society

2020 ◽  
pp. 350-365
Author(s):  
Asteris Huliaras
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Activism ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Voluntary Organizations ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Cultural Shifts

In the post-1974 era Greek society suffered from low levels of civic engagement, associational density, and volunteering. Non-governmental and civil society organizations were relatively few and poorly organized, relying mostly on state and European Union funds. This, in turn, compromised their autonomy and diminished their capacity to act as a check on state power. However, Greek civil society has been changing since the early 1990s. Several new NGOs have appeared, focusing mainly on environmental issues, their activities have been strengthened and widened, and people have been devoting more time and money to social activism. There are several reasons that explain this development: apart from wider cultural shifts, an important factor has been that political parties have loosened their grip on the associational sphere, leaving more space for voluntary organizations. The change of stance of a significant part of the Greek Left, which previously regarded NGOs with suspicion, was crucial. The receding welfare state in the last decade encouraged civic engagement and mobilized citizens. The number of volunteers increased, new organizations were formed, and older ones became more active in providing social services to impoverished Greeks and migrants. Importantly, the new forms of activism and engagement that are on the rise are not linked to the state. The crisis seems to have strengthened Greek civil society: the dependency on EU and state funds of previous years that had constrained NGO independence and autonomy may at last have started to wane.

scholarly journals PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN THE NATIONAL PROCEDURE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
I.H. Domuladzhanov ◽  
◽  
V.G. Boyarinovа ◽  
S.I. Domuladjanovа ◽  
M.I. Latipovа ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
General Public ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
Special Role ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
The Republic

The article discusses the solution to the problem of environmental protection with the participation of civil society. The special role of non-governmental non-profit organizations (NGOs) is defined as a link between the general public and government agencies. The importance of participation of NGOs in the EIA procedure and public environmental review is noted.

Nonprofit and Civic Engagement (NPACE) Center: Building Mutually Beneficial Community Relationships

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher McCollough ◽  
Danna Gibson ◽  
Richard Baxter
Keyword(s):  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
The Past ◽  
Life Challenges ◽  
Faculty And Administrators ◽  
And Function ◽  
The University

This paper discusses the purpose, reach, and function of the Non-Profit and Civic Engagement (NPACE) Center in the Department of Communication. Additionally, it explores how the ground-up creation of NPACE resulted from a thorough examination of the strengths and needs of both department and community and how the center offers substantive solutions to meet real-life challenges of both. Along the way, the paper addresses how faculty members negotiated with faculty and administrators across campus to gain support to launch the center. Moreover, the paper discusses key achievements of a few select projects executed in the past 5 years of service to the university and community. It also addresses the value of NPACE to its students, including a recent trend that has potential for further examination regarding the effect of the learning model and the center on fostering the civic and community engagement of graduates. Finally, the paper discusses emerging challenges, lessons learned, and opportunities for NPACE.

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