Civil Society: Positing the Role of NGOs in Depoliticizing Political Action

Author(s):  
Arsha V. Sathyan
Author(s):  
Bob Jessop

This chapter distinguishes Foucault’s approach from the work of Anglo-Foucauldian scholars. The latter adopted a microsocial perspective, focused on the programmes and rationalities of government that work across multiple alliances between different actors, and argued for bottom-up civil society responsibilization. Foucault was not only state-phobic but also suspicious of political action based on civil society. His theoretical interests shifted from the micro-physics of disciplinary society and its anatomo-politics of the body to the more general strategic codification of a plurality of discourses, practices, technologies of power, and institutional ensembles around a specific governmental rationality concerned with the social body (bio-power) in a consolidated capitalist society. This is reflected in the statification of government and the governmentalization of the state. This led to his analyses of sovereignty, territorial statehood, and state power and the role of civil society in this regard and to less well-substantiated claims about their articulation to the logic of capital accumulation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 28-45
Author(s):  
Jeanne Rey

Abstract This article addresses the role of migrant congregations as civil society players through the practice of prayer. By combining the notion of political activism and the theory of subjectivation, it offers a new perspective on Pentecostal practice and migrant congregations in Europe as a way of addressing uncertainty linked to migration policies and mobility regimes. In Switzerland, where conditions for migrants have become increasingly restrictive, political and social forms of exclusion are challenged by African Pentecostal migrants who engage in prayer that contests restrictions on mobility, assignation to subaltern positions, as well as other forms of discrimination. Yet, this ritual resistance rarely takes the form of a political action; neither does it formulate concrete claims towards immigration procedures and policies. Rather, it is expressed through prayer in the protective space of a religious community, allowing the migrants to reassess subjectivations and to imagine new subjectivities.


Sains Insani ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-36
Author(s):  
Che Amnah Bahari ◽  
Fatimah Abdullah

The whole world, the Muslim in particular has witnessed conflicts in different areas, which have hindered the developmental efforts of the nations concerned. It should be learned that most victims of these conflicts are women and children. This article attempts to elaborate the role of Muslims Women as a crucial segment in civil society in initiating peace building through nurturing process. It maintains that the adoption of the principles and values derived from the Qur’ān and Sunnah of the Prophet is necessary as a process of lifelong learning.  Those identified values constituted the framework of this article and it adopts the textual analysis method.   This article concludes that through the implementation of those values and frameworks for peace building, women as one of the important segments of civil society are able to play significant role towards initiating peace building and promoting peaceful co-existence in pluralistic society. Abstrak: Dunia Islam khususnya telah menyaksikan konflik di pelbagai daerah yang berbeza. Konflik ini telah menghalang usaha kearah pembangunan Kawasan yang berkenaan. Kebanyakan mangsa konflik ini adalah wanita dan kanak-kanak. Artikel ini cuba untuk menghuraikan peranan wanita Islam sebagai segmen penting dalam masyarakat madani dalam membangun proses kedamaian dengan mendidik dan memupuk prinsip dan nilai murni janaan al-Qur’an. Penggunaan prinsip dan nilai yang dikutip dari ayat-ayat Qur'an dan hadis Rasulullah adalah keperluan yang mendesak sebagai wadah bagi proses pembelajaran sepanjang hayat. Nilai-nilai yang dikenal pasti merupakan rangka kerja artikel ini, dan metod yang dirujuk adalah analisis teks. Artikel ini menyimpulkan bahawa melalui pelaksanaan nilai-nilai dan kerangka kerja Islam bagi proses kedamaian, wanita Islam dalam masyarakat madani mampu memainkan peranan penting dalam memulakan pembinaan keamanan dan menggalakkan kehidupan yang harmonis, sejahtera dan saling bantu membantu dalam masyarakat majmuk.


2016 ◽  
pp. 66-81
Author(s):  
Leszek Graniszewski

In the article the author draws his attention to the differences between the position of the Committee as a social conscience of the EU (that has been declared in the treaties and declarations) and the practical possibilities to fulfil this role and its results. The analysis featured covers the structure and the manner of operation of the Committee, and, in particular, the functions actually fulfilled by the Committee in its role of the bridge between the EU and the organised civil society.


Author(s):  
Tikhon Sergeyevich Yarovoy

The article is devoted to the research of goals and functions of lobbying activity. The author has processed the ideas of domestic and foreign scientists, proposed his own approaches to the definition of goals and functions of lobbying activities through the prism of public administration. As a result, a generalized vision of the goals and functions of lobbying activities as interrelated elements of the lobbying system was proposed, and a forecast for further evolution of the goals and functions of domestic lobbying was provided. The analysis of lobbying functions allowed us to notice the tendencies in shifting the goals of this activity. If the objectives were fully covered by functions such as mediation between citizens and the state, the information function and the function of organizing plurality of public interests, then the role of strengthening the self-organization of civil society and the function of compromise become increasingly important in the process of formation in the developed countries of civil society and the development of telecommunication technologies. Ukrainian lobbyism will not be left to the side of this process. Already, politicians of the highest level, leaders of financial and industrial groups have to act, adjust their goals (even if they are — declared), taking into account the reaction of the public. In the future, this trend will only increase. The analysis of current research and political events provides all grounds for believing that, while proper regulatory legislation is being formed in Ukraine, the goals and functions of domestic lobbying will essentially shift towards a compromise with the public. It is noted that in spite of the existence of a basic direction of action, lobbying may have several ramified goals. Guided by the goals set, lobbyism can manifest itself in various spheres of the political system of society, combining the closely intertwined interests of various actors in the lobbying process, or even — contrasting them.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-81
Author(s):  
Surajudeen Mudasiru ◽  
Abdul-Wasi Moshood

GEOgraphia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (41) ◽  
pp. 39
Author(s):  
Agripino Souza Coelho Neto

Resumo: O presente texto pretende analisar o papel das ações coletivas (associações, cooperativas e sindicatos de agricultores) no acionamento e na ativação das escalas geográficas para o desenvolvimento de suas atividades. O estudo foi realizado no Espaço Sisaleiro da Bahia (Brasil), onde um conjunto significativo de associações e cooperativas de agricultores e sindicatos de trabalhadores rurais tem se organizado em torno das escalas espaciais para viabilizar sua ação político-institucional e econômico-produtiva. A ação desses coletivos organizados em rede tem permitido a conformação e o fortalecimento de novas escalas de ação política, como no caso da criação do conselho territorial para viabilização da implantação de políticas de governo. Cooperativas, associações e sindicatos se apoiam nas escalas para compor organizações em diferentes níveis escalares (escala local, escala regional, escala do estado federado e escala nacional), buscando fortalecer seus propósitos e ampliar seu poder de barganha e influência. Analisando o comportamento espacial dessas variadas modalidades de ações coletivas, é possível considerar que elas desenvolvem políticas de escala, ou seja, a escala passa a significar muito mais que uma categoria de análise, mas se torna uma categoria da prática social e política. Nesse sentido, parte-se do pressuposto de que os grupos humanos produzem e tornam efetivas suas próprias escalas visando a alcançar suas metas e organizar seus comportamentos coletivos. Palavras-chave: Escala. Rede. Cooperativismo. Associativismo. Sindicalismo. Espaço Sisaleiro da Bahia. SCALE POLICIES AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF NETWORK STRATEGIES OF COLLECTIVE ACTIONS IN THE SISAL REGION OF BAHIA (BRAZIL)Abstract: This paper aims to analyze the role of collective initiatives of associations, cooperatives and farmers’ unions in the mobilization and activation of geographical scales for the development of their activities. The study was conducted in the Sisal Region of Bahia (Brazil), where a significant number of farmers associations and cooperatives and rural workers’ unions have been organizing their actions around spatial scales to enable their political-institutional and economic-productive influence. The gathering and action of these organized groups in a network have allowed the establishment and strengthening of new scales of political action, as seem in the case of the creation of a territorial council to facilitate the implementation of government policies. Cooperatives, associations, and unions rely on scales to form organizations at different scale levels (local, regional, federal and national scales), seeking to strengthen their performance and increase their bargaining power and influence. After analyzing the spatial behavior of these various forms of collective actions, it’s reasonable to say that they develop scale policies, which means the scale becomes more than a category of analysis, but also a category of social and political practice. In this sense, it’s assumed that human groups produce and utilize the scales in order to reach their goals and organize their own collective behaviors. Keywords: Scale. Network. Cooperativism. Associativism. Syndicalism. Sisal Region of Bahia. POLITIQUES D’ÉCHELLE ET FORMATION DES STRATÉGIES-RÉSEAU DES ACTIONS COLLECTIVES DANS LA RÉGION DU SISAL DE L’ÉTAT DE BAHIA Resumé: Cet article analyse le rôle des actions collectives (associations, coopératives et syndicats d’agriculteurs) dans la prise en compte et l’utilisation des échelles géographiques pour le développement de leurs activités. L’étude a été menée dans la région du sisal à Bahia (Brésil), où un ensemble important d’associations et de coopératives d’agriculteurs et de syndicats de travailleurs ruraux se sont organisés autour d’échelles spatiales pour que puisse être mise en place leur action politique et institutionnelle, économique et productive. L’action de ces groupements organisés en réseaux a permis la conformation et le renforcement de nouvelles échelles d’action politique, comme lors de la création du conseil territorial, pour permettre la mise en œuvre des politiques gouvernementales. Les coopératives, les associations et les syndicats prennent les échelles comme point de départ pour former des organisations à différents niveaux scalaires (échelle locale, échelle régionale, échelle fédérée et échelle nationale), dans le but de renforcer leurs objectifs et d’accroître leur pouvoir de négociation et d’influence. Si nous analysons le comportement spatial de ces diverses formes d’action collective il est possible de considérer qu’ils développent des politiques d’échelle, à savoir l’échelle vient signifier bien plus qu’une catégorie d’analyse, puisqu’elle devient une catégorie de la pratique sociale et politique. En ce sens, on suppose que les groupes humains produisent et rendent efficaces leurs propres échelles pour atteindre leurs objectifs et organiser leurs comportements collectifs. Mots-clés: Échelle. Réseau. Coopérativisme. Associations. Syndicalisme. Région du sisal de l’État de Bahia.


Author(s):  
Ewan Ferlie ◽  
Sue Dopson ◽  
Chris Bennett ◽  
Michael D. Fischer ◽  
Jean Ledger ◽  
...  

This chapter analyses the role of think tanks in generating a distinctive mode of policy knowledge, pragmatically orientated to inform and shape issues of importance to civil society. Drawing on political science literature, we argue that think tanks exploit niche areas of expertise and influence to actively mobilize policy analyses and recommendations across diverse stakeholders. Through our exploratory mapping of think tanks, geographically concentrated within London, we characterize their influence as significantly boosting knowledge intensity across the regional ecosystem. In particular, we study the empirical case of one London-based think tank which powerfully mobilized policy knowledge through its formal and informal networks to build influential expert consensus amongst key stakeholders. We conclude that such organizations act as key knowledge producers and mobilizers, with significant potential to influence policy discourses and implementation.


Author(s):  
Asha Bajpai

The chapter commences with the change in the perspective and approach relating to children from welfare to rights approach. It then deals with the legal definition of child in India under various laws. It gives a brief overview of the present legal framework in India. It states briefly the various policies and plans, and programmes of the Government of India related to children. International law on the rights of the child is enumerated and a summary of the important judgments by Indian courts are also included. The chapter ends with pointing out the role of civil society organizations in dealing with the rights of the child and a mention of challenges ahead.


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