scholarly journals Civil society organizations and social innovation. How and to what extent are they influencing social and political change?

2017 ◽  
pp. 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Andion ◽  
Rubens Lima Moraes ◽  
Aghata Gonsalves
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Inquiry ◽  
Three Stages ◽  
Electoral Corruption ◽  
The Public Sphere

This study aims to understand how civil society organizations (CSOs) perform and influence public arenas. The focus of this paper is the transformative scope of social innovation initiatives promoted by CSOsin two public arenas in Brazil: the fight against electoral corruption and the protection of children and adolescents’ rights. The research consisted of three stages: 1) controversy mapping to understand the configuration ofthese public arenas and compare the trajectories of the public problems studied; 2) observation of the “field of experience” of some CSOs that perform in these arenas; and 3) analysis of “political grammars” produced in public arenas, connecting them to the performance of the CSOs analysed. The results reveal how social innovation emerges, develops and is disseminated in the public arenas studied and highlights the similarities and differences between the two cases, discussing the practices and role of CSOs in these processes. As conclusions, the study indicates that social innovation initiatives promoted by CSOs are influenced by and have an effect on the “political culture” in the public arenas. Additionally, this work states that the regime of CSOs’ engagement in the public sphere and their performance have consequences in terms of influence on social and political changes. In the cases studied, when CSOs go beyond the logic of coproduction of public services and engage in “public inquiry” processes, their capacity to inspire social transformation seems to be enhanced.

Romance, Irony, and Solidarity

1997 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald N. Jacobs ◽  
Philip Smith
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Social Solidarity ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Cultures ◽  
Procedural Reform ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Narrative Forms

Contemporary social theory has turned increasingly to concepts such as civil society, community, and the public sphere in order to theorize about the construction of vital, democratic and solidaristic political cultures. The dominant prescriptions for attaining this end invoke the need for institutional and procedural reform, but overlook the autonomous role of culture in shaping and defining the forms of social solidarity. This article proposes a model of solidarity based on the two genres of Romance and Irony, and argues that these narrative forms offer useful vocabularies for organizing public discourse within and between civil society and its constituent communities. Whilst unable to sustain fully-inclusive and solidaristic political cultures on their own, in combination the genres of Romance and Irony allow for solidaristic forms built around tolerance, reflexivity, and intersubjectivity.

The Role of Civil Society Organizations in Social Innovation as an Example of the New Social Marketing

2018 ◽  
pp. 171-181
Author(s):  
Begoña Álvarez-García ◽  
Luis Ignacio Álvarez-González ◽  
Marta Rey-García ◽  
Noelia Salido-Andrés ◽  
María José Sanzo-Pérez
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Social Marketing ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Civil Society Organizations

Fringe Benefits

Terrified ◽  
2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Bail
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Documentary Film ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Cultural Environment ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Shared Understandings

This chapter explains how anti-Muslim organizations leveraged their newfound standing within the public sphere to forge social networks with powerful civil society organizations and amass vast financial resources between 2004 and 2006. In so doing, anti-Muslim organizations crept from the fringe to the mainstream of the cultural environment as their once peripheral messages spread across more moderate organizations and inspired others to join the struggle to shape shared understandings about Islam. This transformation resulted from the routinization of their emotional energy into a field of terrorism experts, a sophisticated media strategy that resulted in several best-selling books and an influential documentary film, and partnerships with groups that splintered from the mainstream during earlier periods.

scholarly journals Beyond Narcissism: Towards an Analysis of the Public, Political and Collective Forms of Contemporary Spirituality

Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clot-Garrell ◽  
Griera
Keyword(s):  
Social Engagement ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
The Body ◽  
Political Commitment ◽  
The Public ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Complex Picture ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Theoretical Developments

Holistic spirituality has often been characterized by academic literature as belonging to the private sphere, articulated through the market and anchored in the growth of narcissistic individualism. However, recent empirical evidence and theoretical developments suggest a more complex picture. Drawing on the analysis and comparison of two empirical cases—the organization of collective meditations in public spaces and the teaching of yoga in prisons by holistic volunteers —we explore the rise of social engagement initiatives, aiming to transform society through the promotion and use of holistic techniques. Our main conclusions revolve around four main issues (a) the move of holistic spirituality from the private to the public sphere and the increasing public resonance with (and acceptance of) the contemporary holistic milieu, (b) the emergence of an holistic imaginary of social change anchored in ethics of reciprocity and responsibility, (c) the role of the body as a central locus of resistance and social transformation and (d) the articulation of new forms of individualism that enable to make self-realization compatible with social and political commitment.

Engendering or Endangering Democracy? The Internet, Civil Society and the Public Sphere

2002 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaheer Baber
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Social Control ◽  
The Internet ◽  
The Public ◽  
General Consensus ◽  
Marginal Groups ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Way

In recent discussions, the role of the Internet in facilitating democratization has been either exaggerated or underestimated. The general consensus seems to be that that the Internet will eventually go the way of other technologies of communication such as the radio and television that failed to live up to their expected role of agents of democratization. Rather than empower marginal groups and constituencies, the Internet could even contribute to more subtle and omnipotent forms of social control through surveillance. This paper examines these positions by focusing on the Singapore case. The possibilities for the expansion of civil society and the emergence of a robust public sphere as a consequence of the wiring up of the country are examined. The key argument of the paper is that although the Internet does indeed contribute to enhanced surveillance capabilities, its potential for circumventing existing forms of regulation and expanding the limited public sphere in Singapore is also very real.

scholarly journals Syrian refugees in Brazil

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-133
Author(s):  
Ana Raquel Torres Menezes
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Syrian Refugees ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Public Power ◽  
The Public ◽  
Language Courses ◽  
The Public Sphere

Brazil is the main receiver of Syrian nationals seeking for asylum in Latin America. In spite of the distance from Syria comparatively to European countries, Brazil is often chosen as a destiny country due to two main reasons: the humanitarian visa granted to people affected by the instability in Syria, that demands less requirements than a regular visa, and the possibility of acquiring a working permit even before the refuge status is granted. However, Syrian refugees/refuge seekers face challenges in accessing labor market due to language barriers, difficulties in proving previous professional qualifications and the discrimination against refugees of arab origin. The public sphere is by law responsible for promoting integration policies for refugees, and has covered issues such as juridical assistance for this population, but doesn’t have clear actions in integrating refugees in the labor market. The organized civil society realizes a valorous work in this sense, with many initiatives to assist refugees inserting in the labor market, such as language courses, resume creating and raising of awareness to companies about the hiring of refugees. Since these institutions don’t count on enough financial support from the public sphere, they vastly rely on volunteer workforce, which despite being very helpful, many times is not specialized in dealing with refuge issues. By performing a qualitative review of literature in the subject, extracted from books, articles, journal articles, doctorate thesis, bachelor thesis and newspaper databases both in Portuguese and in English, this research intends to figure out  how the civil society organizations are assisting Syrian refugees to integrate in the labor market in Brazil, filling the gap left by the public power, and often suffering from overburdening.

scholarly journals Civilsamfund eller social kapital?

2006 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 61-75
Author(s):  
Lars Hulgård
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Institutional Critique ◽  
Institutional Perspective ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Status ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
The Public Sphere

Lars Hulgård: Civil Society or Social Capital? An institutional critique of theories of civil society inspired by Habermas and Putnam. There have been two main approaches to theory about the relations between civil society and democracy and the welfare state. One is the approach by Habermas that emphasizes the role of the public sphere as mediator between civil society and representative democracy. The other is an approach inspired by Putnam that emphasizes the importance of social capital. Putnam focuses on how civil involvement and voluntary associations raise the effectiveness of institutions in modern society. Both approaches have met with considerable criticism from different points of view. However the article argues that a similar criticism can be made of both approaches although they seem so different. It argues that the crucial challenge is to include an institutional perspective in whichever perspective one employs in the study the status of civil society as a democratic or welfare impulse in modern society. The article reviews the various criticisms of the two approaches and shows how an institutional perspective can be employed to both approaches.

Civil Society Organizations and Public Understandings of Islam

Terrified ◽  
2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Bail
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
September 11 ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
The Public ◽  
High Profile ◽  
September 11 Attacks ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The U.S

This chapter asks whether the influence of anti-Muslim organizations within the media and policy process extends toward the broader public and everyday life. Though public opinion of Muslims became more favorable after the September 11 attacks, subsequent years witnessed a marked increase in anti-Muslim attitudes among the American public that mirrored the rise of anti-Muslim organizations within the public sphere. Data from popular social media sites suggest the surge in anti-Muslim civil society organizations was at least partly responsible for the transformation of the American public's understanding of Islam. Finally, the chapter details the growth of mosque controversies within the U.S. inspired by fringe activists—including the high-profile controversy about the construction of an Islamic center near the site of the September 11 attacks and the Qur'an burning controversy that followed.

The roles of civil society in the development of standards around new weapons and other technologies of warfare

2012 ◽  
Vol 94 (886) ◽  
pp. 765-785 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Rappert ◽  
Richard Moyes ◽  
Anna Crowe ◽  
Thomas Nash
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Standard Setting ◽  
The Public ◽  
Additional Protocol ◽  
Geneva Conventions ◽  
Legal Obligations ◽  
The Public Sphere

AbstractThis article considers the role of civil society in the development of new standards around weapons. The broad but informal roles that civil society has undertaken are contrasted with the relatively narrow review mechanisms adopted by states in fulfilment of their legal obligations. Such review mechanisms are also considered in the context of wider thinking about processes by which society considers new technologies that may be adopted into the public sphere. The article concludes that formalized review mechanisms, such as those undertaken in terms of Article 36 of Additional Protocol I (1977) of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, should be a focus of civil society attention in their own right as part of efforts to strengthen standard-setting in relation to emerging military technologies.

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