The role of licit and illicit transnational networks during the Troubles

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devashree Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Coalition Formation ◽  
Transnational Advocacy ◽  
Advocacy Networks ◽  
Transnational Advocacy Networks ◽  
The Troubles ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
And Function ◽  
And Diffusion

From the beginning of the Troubles, groups in Northern Ireland deliberately sought and made use of transnational allies to further their political goals and gain strategic advantages vis-à-vis their opponents. Organizations on both sides of the conflict turned to external allies, including diaspora groups, like-minded movements, and groups with ideological affinities for accessing resources, expanding and practicing their tactical repertoires, and strengthening their claims to legitimacy. While the existence of this transnational dimension of the Troubles is well documented, the differences among cross-border networks—how they were structured, how they functioned, and their impact on the dynamics of the conflict—are less well understood. Drawing on social movement theory, particularly work on transnational advocacy networks, coalition formation, and diffusion, this chapter compares the structure and function of two types of cross-border networks that resulted: licit ties that publicly connected two or more groups, and illicit ties that allowed groups to forge secretive connections with potential allies.

Democratization

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Welzel ◽  
Ronald F. Inglehart
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Transition To Democracy ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Social Forces ◽  
Transnational Advocacy ◽  
Advocacy Networks ◽  
Transnational Advocacy Networks ◽  
Historical Perspectives ◽  
Sub Saharan

Democratization introduces the theoretical and practical dimensions of democratization. Focusing on the ‘global wave of democratization’ that has advanced since the early 1970s, this text examines the major perspectives, approaches, and insights that have informed research on democratization. The book is divided into four parts based on four aspects of democratization. Part One deals with theoretical and historical perspectives; Part Two focuses on causes and dimensions of democratization; Part Three looks at actors and institutions; and Part Four is concerned with regions of democratization such as Southern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and East Asia. Topics include the distinction between democratic and undemocratic states, the role of democratization in foreign policy, and the contributions of social movements, protest, and transnational advocacy networks to democratic transition. Key themes covered in this thoroughly revised and updated second edition include: theories of democratization; critical prerequisites and driving social forces of the transition to democracy; pivotal actors and institutions involved in democratization; conditions for democratic survival and the analysis of failed democratization; demonstrations of how these factors have played a role in the different regions in which the global wave of democratization transplaced authoritarian and communist systems; and possible futures of democratization worldwide.

Transnational Human Rights Networks: Significance and Challenges

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Peter Schmitz
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Transnational Activism ◽  
Transnational Advocacy ◽  
Advocacy Networks ◽  
Amnesty International ◽  
Transnational Advocacy Networks ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
New Type ◽  
Global Affairs

Transnational human rights networks refer to a form of cross-border collective action that seeks to promote compliance with universally accepted norms. Principled transnational activism began to draw sustained scholarly attention after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and the creation of a new type of information-driven and impartial transnational activism, embodied in organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Scholarship on transnational human rights networks emerged during the 1990s within the subfield of International Relations and as a challenge to the state-centric and materialist bias of the field. In their 1998 book Activists beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics, Margaret Keck and Kathryn Sikkink describe the key role that transnational human rights groups play in global affairs. Focusing on rights-based activism, Keck and Sikkink show how transnational advocacy networks (TANs) can influence domestic politics. The concept of TANs is dominated by the purposeful activism of nongovernmental organizations and driven by shared principles, not professional standards. A number of studies have challenged the core assumptions about the effectiveness of principled human rights activism, arguing that international support plays no significant role compared to the autonomous efforts of domestic activists. One way to overcome these challenges and criticisms is for the transnational activist sector, as well as other types of non-state actors, to move beyond the principles/interests dichotomy and take a closer look at the internal dynamics of participant NGOs.

Transnational Advocacy Networks, Female Labor Migration and Trafficking in East and Southeast Asia: A Gendered Analysis of Opportunities and Obstacles

2002 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Piper ◽  
Anders Uhlin
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Labor Migration ◽  
International Political Economy ◽  
Transnational Advocacy ◽  
Advocacy Networks ◽  
Transnational Advocacy Networks ◽  
Political Opportunities ◽  
East And Southeast Asia

The aim of this article is to advance political economy and politics into migration studies by analyzing the role of transnational advocacy networks working on issues of trafficking and labor migration in East and Southeast Asia. Drawing on some empirical research, but mainly offering conceptual ideas, we demonstrate the importance of gender not only in trafficking and labor migration but also in transnational advocacy. First, we contextualize trafficking and labor migration within a gendered international political economy, focusing on existing power relations between genders, between classes and between states. Second, we examine the role of transnational advocacy networks in this context. In particular, we argue that a broader understanding of political opportunities and obstacles is needed. Emphasizing the transnational context and the importance of gender, we outline different types of opportunities and obstacles to advocacy in this particular area.

1. Introduction

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian W. Haerpfer ◽  
Patrick Bernhagen ◽  
Ronald F. Inglehart ◽  
Christian Welzel
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Southern Europe ◽  
Transnational Advocacy ◽  
Advocacy Networks ◽  
Transnational Advocacy Networks ◽  
Historical Perspectives ◽  
Sub Saharan

This text examines a number of perspectives, approaches, and insights that have informed research on democratization. Throughout the text, democracy and democratization are discussed together, and each approach to democratization is presented. The text is divided into four parts based on four aspects of democratization. Part One deals with theoretical and historical perspectives; Part Two focuses on causes and dimensions of democratization; Part Three looks at actors and institutions; and Part Four is concerned with regions of democratization such as Southern Europe, Latin America, Middle East and North Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa, and East Asia. Topics include the distinction between democratic and undemocratic states, the role of democratization in foreign policy, and the contributions of social movements, protest, and transnational advocacy networks to democratic transition.

The superpower’s dilemma: to appease, repress, or transform transnational advocacy networks?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Noakes
Keyword(s):  
Soft Power ◽  
The State ◽  
Transnational Advocacy ◽  
Advocacy Networks ◽  
Causal Influence ◽  
Transnational Advocacy Networks ◽  
Authoritarian State ◽  
Advocacy Campaigns

This introductory chapter spells out a crucial problem in the study of transnational networks from the perspective of international relations scholarship—if TANs are fundamentally ideational constructs, defined and driven by commitment to a core principle or cause, what are we to make of periodic changes to their mission and message? What is the role of China’s strong authoritarian state in shaping the trajectories and results of transnational advocacy campaigns? The chapter posits that the soft power of the state (backed by coercive capability) imposes incentives on TANs that can effect the various processes and pathways taken by advocacy campaigns. The chapter suggests that advocates and activists need to take the state and its structures seriously when crafting advocacy, given the causal influence these have over campaign trajectories and campaign results.

scholarly journals Conflitos armados e a agenda internacional: a questão da mulher

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 1277-1295
Author(s):  
Iazana Matuella
Keyword(s):  
Transnational Advocacy ◽  
Advocacy Networks ◽  
Transnational Advocacy Networks

Resumo: A violência contra a mulher é um debate antigo e possui reivindicações de mulheres, de forma organizada, há mais de um século. Porém, sua introdução como importante tema na agenda internacional foi recente e dependeu de um grande esforço de grupos de mulheres. Assim, esse artigo pretende analisar como os movimentos de mulheres, desde 1945, com a criação da Organização das Nações Unidas, influenciaram a incorporação da problemática da violência contra a mulher, principalmente em períodos de conflitos armados, pelo sistema internacional de proteção da pessoa humana, bem como a observância dessas diretrizes pelos Estados e Organizações Internacionais. O argumento aqui apresentado é que apenas a partir da década de 1990, com as Transnational Advocacy Networks (TANs) efetivadas e pela consideração dos Direitos das Mulheres como um Direito Humano fundamental, foi que a temática recebeu a valoração que merecia na agenda internacional. Esse impacto escoou também para o âmbito dos conflitos armados, onde as mulheres são as mais impactadas e vulnerabilizadas. Portanto, diversas normas foram criadas a fim de eliminar a violência de gênero, e conclui-se que a principal falha se mantém na inobservância dessas diretrizes, tanto a nível estatal como internacional.

scholarly journals THE TROUBLES WITH A LOWER CASE t: UNDERGRADUATES AND BELFAST'S DIFFICULT HISTORY

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 219-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean O'Connell
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Oral History ◽  
Social History ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Historical Evidence ◽  
The Troubles ◽  
Lower Case ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Post War

ABSTRACTThis paper explores the risks and rewards involved in directing undergraduate students engaged on an oral history project in Belfast. It advocates the role of oral history as a tool through which to encourage students’ engagement with research-led teaching to produce reflective assignments on the nature of historical evidence, particularly autobiographical memory. The particular challenges of conducting oral history in a city beset by ethno-sectarian divisions are discussed. This factor has ensured that the historiography of Belfast has focused extensively on conflict and violence. The city's social history is poorly understood, but employing oral history enables the exploration of issues that take undergraduate historians beyond the Troubles as a starting point. This project probed what is called the troubles with a lower case t, via an analysis of deindustrialisation and urban redevelopment in Sailortown (Belfast's dockland district). It provided evidence with which to offer a new assessment on existing historiographical discussions about working-class nostalgic memory and urban social change, one that supports those scholars that problematize attempts to categorise such memory. The testimony also differed in significant ways from previous oral history research on post-war Northern Ireland.

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