Global and Local Discourses: Civil Society and the Achievements of Democracy

2009 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Local Discourses ◽  
Global And Local

Transforming Democracy through ICT

2008 ◽  
pp. 2441-2449
Author(s):  
Andy Williamson
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Local Scale ◽  
Citizen Engagement ◽  
Global And Local ◽  
Do So

This article explores the potential of ICT to be used to transform the processes of citizen engagement such that a citizen-centred approach to e-democracy becomes both viable and desirable. It will do so by exploring three tensions relating to democracy and civil society: first that participation in traditional democracy is falling, yet new technologies are mobilising citizens on a global and local scale (such as antiglobalisation protests and electoral protests in the Philippines and Spain); second, ICT increases the technocracy of government but also offers citizens a chance to become closer to it; and third, that macro strategies for ICT access are not enough to remove localised exclusion.

“We care about others”: discursive constructions of corruption vis-à-vis national/cultural identity in Indonesia’s business-government relations

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanti Pertiwi
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Government Function ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Government Relations ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Political Dimensions ◽  
Local Discourses ◽  
Global And Local ◽  
Discursive Constructions

Purpose This paper aims to problematize existing conceptualization of corruption by presenting alternative perspectives on corruption in Indonesia through the lens of national/cultural identity, amidst claims of the pervasiveness of corruption in the country. In so doing, the paper also sheds light on the micro-processes of interactions between global and local discourses in postcolonial settings. Design/methodology/approach The study applies discourse analysis, involving in-depth interviews with 40 informants from the business sector, government institutions and anti-corruption agencies. Findings The findings suggest that corruption helps government function, preserves livelihoods of the marginalized segments of societies and maintains social obligations/relations. These alternative meanings of corruption persist despite often seen as less legitimate due to effects of colonial powers. Research limitations/implications The snowballing method of recruiting informants is one of the limitations of this paper, which may decrease the potential diversity and lead to the silencing of different stories (Schwartz-Shea and Yanow, 2013). Researchers need to contextualize corruption and study its varied meanings to reveal its social, historical and political dimensions. Practical implications This paper strongly suggests that we need to move beyond rationalist accounts to capture the varied meanings of corruption which may be useful to explain the limited results of existing anti-corruption efforts. Social implications This study calls for a greater use of qualitative methods to study broad social change programs such as anti-corruption from the perspective of the insiders. Originality/value This paper contributes to the discussion of agency at the interplay between the dominant and alternative discourses in postcolonial settings. Moreover, the alternative meanings of corruption embedded in constructions of national identity and care ethics discussed in this paper offer as a starting point for decolonizing (Westwood, 2006) anti-corruption theory and practice.

The Effectiveness of Initiatives to Promote Good Governance, Accountability and Transparency in the Extractives Sector in Zimbabwe

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 230-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tumai Murombo
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Mining Sector ◽  
Legal Reforms ◽  
Official Policy ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Government ◽  
Global And Local ◽  
Governance Transparency ◽  
Transparency And Accountability

AbstractThe regulation of the extractives sector in Zimbabwe has recently come under scrutiny due to the uncertain social, economic and political environment. Zimbabwe's mining sector was under colonial legislation for a long time and that legislation has recently been reviewed. Existing extractives sector laws do not adequately promote transparency and accountability, an issue recognized by stakeholders throughout the mining sector. The advent of the new constitution and law reform processes indicates Zimbabwe's intention to incorporate good governance, transparency and accountability provisions in the mining sector. State driven reforms have been inspired by global and local civil society initiatives. Analysis shows that, for various reasons, the government does not readily embrace such initiatives, which are important drivers of official policy and legal reforms. Zimbabwean environmental civil society groups have been exceptional in this regard.

scholarly journals Torture and sexual violence in war and conflict: The unmaking and remaking of subjects of violence

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harriet Gray ◽  
Maria Stern ◽  
Chris Dolan
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Sense Making ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Political Work ◽  
War And Conflict ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Support Programmes ◽  
Local Discourses ◽  
Global And Local ◽  
Violent Victimisation

AbstractDespite the wide repository of knowledge about conflict-related sexual violence that now exists, there remains a lack of understanding about how victims/survivors of such violence themselves make sense of and frame their experiences in conversation with global and local discourses and with the categorisations that underpin support programmes. Such sense-making is important not only because the ways in which violence is categorised shape a victim/survivor's ability to access particular forms of recognition and support, but also because it is central in how shattered selves and worlds are remade in the aftermath of violence. Drawing on individual and group interviews conducted with refugees living in Kampala, Uganda, this article charts how framings of ‘torture’ and ‘sexual violence’ become meaningful in participants’ accounts in the (re)formation of themselves as subjects after violent victimisation. We trace how participants navigate the heteronormative societal and legal norms that shape their subjectivity and the effects of the violence they experienced through the deeply gendered and political work that these terms do in their narratives. Our analysis thus highlights and reminds us to pay attention to the political stakes involved in fluid processes of categorising injury.

International Conceptualizations of Diversity in Multi-Cultural Teacher Preparation

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 16-33
Author(s):  
Lottie L. Baker ◽  
Laura B. Liu ◽  
Natalie B. Milman
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Self And Other ◽  
Prior Review ◽  
Theory To Practice ◽  
Practice Transfer ◽  
Local Discourses ◽  
Global And Local ◽  
The U.S

This literature review updates and expands the authors' previous synthesis of empirical research on pre-service multicultural teacher preparation (MTP) conducted from 2006-2011 in settings outside the U.S. (Liu, Baker, & Milman, 2014). In this review, the authors synthesized research conducted from 2006-2015 about (a) how diversity is conceptualized in teacher education, and (b) how MTP is practiced across international settings. Their analysis demonstrates that researchers in non-U.S. settings conceptualized diversity as: (a) unspecified or undefined; (b) connected to self; and (c) a social justice issue. MTP practices similar to their prior review included: critical reflections on self and other, culturally relevant pedagogies, and theory-to-practice transfer. The authors' updated analysis additionally revealed a new approach that they termed interdisciplinary MTP. Implications call for initiating innovative collaborations in teacher preparation to explore complex, evolving definitions of diversity shaped by global and local discourses, and learning from each other about meaningful, effective MTP across international settings.

Embracing Complexity and Innovation in an Era of Globalization

2016 ◽  
pp. 1167-1188
Author(s):  
Laura B. Liu ◽  
Lottie L. Baker ◽  
Natalie B. Milman
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Lifelong Learners ◽  
International Collaborations ◽  
International Diversity ◽  
21St Century Learners ◽  
Local Discourses ◽  
Global And Local

As globalization changes the characteristics of 21st century learners and the learning process itself, it is paramount to discover alternatives to streamlining, rewarding, and comparing talent in a few narrow standardized directions. Supporting the full potential of today's learners entails cultivating globally minded educators committed to exploring evolving meanings of diversity and gleaning from global complexities in nurturing fulfilled lifelong learners. This chapter contributes to forging global practitioner and researcher relationships by examining (a) how diversity is conceptualized by teacher candidates and teacher educators, (b) how Multicultural Teacher Preparation (MTP) is practiced across international settings, and (c) how policy shapes both perceptions of diversity and MTP practices. Findings show international diversity conceptualizations as narrow and complex, and MTP practices as primarily novel or established. Implications call for initiating innovative international collaborations in teacher preparation to explore complex, evolving definitions of diversity shaped by global and local discourses, and learning from each other about what is important and effective across international settings (Darling-Hammond & Lieberman, 2011).

Networked Advocacy

2018 ◽  
pp. 791-802
Author(s):  
Yifat Susskind ◽  
Diana Duarte
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Grass Roots ◽  
Policies And Programs ◽  
Global And Local ◽  
National Reconciliation ◽  
Reconciliation Process

Women’s networked advocacy is a vital strategy for overcoming the exclusion of local civil society from the policymaking process. Networked advocacy provides activists at the global and local level with an opportunity to share knowledge. In doing so, it allows activists to maximize expertise, and it creates space for local civil society to participate in the development of policies and programs. Using the examples of national reconciliation processes in the Middle East and Latin America this chapter explores the strategies employed by activists to advocate for grass-roots participation and leadership. This chapter argues that networked advocacy facilitates a more inclusive reconciliation process, as it recognizes the positive contributions of local peace-builders and enables the participation of grass-roots women’s civil society. Given this, the chapter suggests that influential stakeholders who act as gatekeepers to formal reconciliation processes must recognize the power of these networks and mobilize resources and support to sustain them.

scholarly journals Global and Local Discourses on Climate Change: A Perspective from the Concept of Embeddedness

1970 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 143-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jailab Kumar Rai
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Cultural Discourses ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Local Climate Change ◽  
Local Discourses ◽  
Global And Local

Climate change has been becoming a major order of business of all including researchers and academics. This is known that global, national and local organizations, institutions and even the individuals are partaking into the issues with their own perspectives and skills of negotiations. Despite the series of international efforts and attempts, there are also a series of national concerns, efforts and attempts in combating against the effects of global climate change. This paper is an attempt to draw on the overview of contexts and concerns of international communities for combating global climate change and its discursive influence in national policy discourses. Moreover, the paper attempts to assess the local socio-cultural discourses and dynamics of climate change in relation to global and national discourses. Finally the paper highlights on how global and local climate change knowledge networks and epistemic communities either from political processes or the socio-economic fabrics are interrelated and determinant to each other. Keywords: climate change; discourses; embeddeness; dynamics; global; local DOI: 10.3126/dsaj.v4i0.4518 Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology Vol.4 2010 pp.143-180

scholarly journals Motivations and Intended Outcomes in Local Governments' Declarations of Climate Emergency

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 17-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xira Ruiz-Campillo ◽  
Vanesa Castán Broto ◽  
Linda Westman
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Environmental Action ◽  
Future Planning ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Global And Local

Near 1,500 governments worldwide, including over 1,000 local governments, have declared a climate emergency. Such declarations constitute a response to the growing visibility of social movements in international politics as well as the growing role of cities in climate governance. Framing climate change as an emergency, however, can bring difficulties in both the identification of the most appropriate measures to adopt and the effectiveness of those measures in the long run. We use textual analysis to examine the motivations and intended outcomes of 300 declarations endorsed by local governments. The analysis demonstrates that political positioning, previous experience of environmental action within local government, and pressure from civil society are the most common motivations for declaring a climate emergency at the local level. The declarations constitute symbolic gestures highlighting the urgency of the climate challenge, but they do not translate into radically different responses to the climate change challenge. The most commonly intended impacts are increasing citizens’ awareness of climate change and establishing mechanisms to influence future planning and infrastructure decisions. However, the declarations are adopted to emphasize the increasing role cities are taking on, situating local governments as crucial agents bridging global and local action agendas.

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