scholarly journals INTERNET GOVERNANCE FOR WHOM? CIVIL SOCIETY, REPRESENTATION, AND DIGITAL RIGHTS

Author(s):  
Rohan Grover

Internet governance institutions embrace a multistakeholder approach, which calls for civil society organizations (CSOs) to represent community interests. How well do digital rights CSOs fulfill these expectations of “community representation”? Through a case study of the Internet Freedom Foundation, an Indian digital rights organization, this paper evaluates community engagement mechanisms through the lens of equity and democratization, and identifies a gap between expectations and observed practices. It concludes that evaluating representation in digital-native CSOs should account for both socioeconomic and technological dynamics in both transnational and national contexts. This paper offers a contribution to an emergent understanding of civil society’s role in internet governance, grounded in a postcolonial critique of representation and legitimacy, in order to understand whose voices are heard, and whose are still excluded, from internet governance processes.

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Muneo Kaigo ◽  
Leslie Tkach-Kawasaki

This main focus of this article is a case study that analyzes social media usage by a local municipality in Japan, and on the possibilities and problems of complementary communication channels such as social networking services for promoting civil society activities and linking civil society organizations. We examine how in the past, Japanese municipalities have been using social media and social networking services for enhancing civil society and how social networking services are a potential tool that can provide vital information and connect citizens, municipal governments and civil society. This article focuses on the first phase of the Tsukuba Civic Activities Cyber-Square [Tsukuba Shimin Katsudō no Hiroba] on Facebook Experiment in 2012 and how it functioned during and after the May 6, 2012 Tsukuba city tornado disaster for the subsequent relief and support activities during May 2012.


Author(s):  
Kari Steen-Johnsen ◽  
Bernard Enjolras

This qualitative case study describes and analyzes the use of social media by Amnesty International Norway (AIN), a medium-sized human rights organization. Specifically, the case looks at how and to what extent AIN fulfilled its aims of enhancing information, public debate, and mobilization for campaigns through the use of Facebook and the organization's own website blog. While AIN saw great potentials in using social media, a core question was whether opening up for more lateral communication would lead to a loss of trustworthiness and organizational identity. Although AIN experienced an initial lack of success in using social media to generate response and mobilization in 2011, it was able to develop a powerful social media strategy resulting in high degrees of activity and exchange in 2014. Findings indicated that this change seemed to rely both on the ability of AIN to reflect upon its own governance structures and on the organization's ability to learn from experience.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 156
Author(s):  
Verdinand Robertua Siahaan

AbstrakKolaborasi perusahaan multinasional, organisasi masyarakat sipil dan pemerintah sangat penting untuk melaksanakan pembangunan berkelanjutan. Munculnya inisiatif multi-stakeholder dianggap sebagai solusi untuk membawa pelaku yang berbeda bekerja sama dalam melindungi lingkungan dan pengelolaan pembangunan. Namun, kritikus berpendapat bahwa MSIs mengalami kekurangan akuntabilitas, legitimasi dan efektivitas. Penelitian ini akan menggunakan English School Theory (EST) untuk mengatasi perdebatan dengan menggunakan studi kasus tahun 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) atau konferensi Johannesburg. Pertanyaan penelitian ini adalah bagaimana memahami MSIs untuk pembangunan berkelanjutan menggunakan EST. Artikel ini menggunakan kerangka kerja konseptual untuk mengevaluasi legitimasi, efektivitas dan akuntabilitas MSIs untuk pembangunan berkelanjutan.Kata kunci : korporasi multinasional, multi-stakeholder initiative AbstractCollaboration of multinational corporation, civil society organizations and governments is critical in implementing sustainable development. Emergence of multi-stakeholder initiatives is considered as a solution to bring different actors work together in protecting environment and managing development. However, the critics argue that MSIs are lack of accountability, legitimacy and effectiveness. This research will use English School Theory (EST) to address this debate with the case study of 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) or Johannesburg conference. The research question is on how to understand MSIs for sustainable development using EST. This article advances a conceptual framework for evaluating the legitimacy, effectiveness and accountability of MSIs for sustainable development.Keywords : multinational corporation, multi-stakeholder initiative


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-30
Author(s):  
Fara Shabira Arrasya ◽  
Jesse Hession Grayman

This article discusses interventions by Islamic-based institutions during coronavirus pandemic in Auckland, New Zealand and Jakarta, Indonesia. The aim of this article is to compare the interventions implemented by various Islamic-based institutions both in Auckland and in Jakarta. The method consists of literature review, informal interviews, and participant observations. There are three types of Islamic-based institutions: the formal institutions with its hierarchy and leadership, the independent non-governmental communities, and the informal local communities. In Auckland, the interventions were mostly done by the independent non-governmental communities and informal local communities. Kiwi Muslims tended to seek spiritual and material help at the closest Islamic-based institutions. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, the interventions were mostly implemented by formal institutions such as Majelis Ulama Indonesia (Indonesian Council of Ulama) with different kinds of support from large Islamic civil society organizations, such as Nahdalatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah. MUI’s interventions aimed for wide acceptance among all Indonesian Muslims, but fatalistic and deterministic perspectives among many Indonesian Muslims led to low effort in mitigating pandemic and less compliance with MUI and government’s regulations.


Author(s):  
David Makwerere

This chapter explored the democratic rights awareness among the youth in Zimbabwe. The youth who live in urban and peri-urban spaces are relatively aware of their democratic rights and a significant number do participate in governance processes in the country, although their participation is largely defined by political party affiliation. There are those youths who are in rural and farming communities who have limited understanding of their democratic rights and responsibilities and most of them believe that participation in governance is simply about voting during national plebiscites and nothing more. The study also found that the development of rights awareness among the youths in Zimbabwe is state-centric and thus undermining the efforts towards effective youth participation. There are some civil society organizations in Zimbabwe that have worked to empower the youth in the country and to create awareness, but this has met with many challenges owing to the hegemonic influences of the ruling political elites and the general political polarization prevailing in the country.


Author(s):  
Annika Björkdahl ◽  
Johanna Mannergren Selimovic

Civil society is often understood as a normative vehicle for the promotion of human rights and democracy, as it plays a central role in ensuring gender equality and advocating for local ownership in the decision-making processes of states. Civil society agents and organizations have been instrumental in promoting and advancing the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda. In this chapter, we examine the experiences of Bosnian Civil Society Organizations (CSO) and their activities to advance a gender-just peace. Drawing on examples from the Bosnian case study, we argue that women civil society organizations are key actors, as they not only set the agenda when it comes to WPS, they also play a key role in ensuring that the WPS principles are institutionalized and operationalized in policy. Moreover, we observe that women CSOs are particularly successful in advocating for the needs of victims of conflict-related sexual-based violence.


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