scholarly journals Forces of Development: Globalisation, Civil Societies, and NGOs in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Narratives

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 120
Author(s):  
Nfon Rita Gola
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Positive Outcome ◽  
The State ◽  
The West ◽  
Self And Other ◽  
Global Era ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Globalization Theory ◽  
Civil Societies

This paper looks at globalization, civil societies and their extensions, NGOs, as forces of development within the contemporary global era through the prism of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun, The Thing Around Your Neck and Americanah. In these texts, the above forces have eroded both ideological and geopolitical boundaries for the betterment of humanity. The centrality of the state, with regards to state development, has been questioned by civil society activism. Civil society agencies, especially, NGOs, the paper posits, have become players in governance−an activity generally reserved for the state. The paper views the flux in state and civil society borders as a part of the shifts in the borders of most of the once outstanding binary pairs−the west and the non-west, the whites and the blacks, as well as the rich and the poor. These are positive shifts that are integral to the present mix in which humanity now exists. The works I analyze market this blend in that Adichie’s characters, no matter where they find themselves, move away from fixed ways of doing things and get connected with the supposed others for humanistic purposes. Globalization theory is used to underline the extent to which the ‘self’ and ‘other’ concepts disappear when it comes to development issues in the postcolony. The paper seeks to answer two basic questions, namely; is the proliferation of civil societies, especially NGOs, the result of the globalization phenomenon or the cause of the globalization process? How has globalization, civil societies and NGOs developed Nigeria, in particular, and Africa in general? It premises the civil society as a trajectory of the globalisation process with a positive outcome from the perspective that its various forms have encouraged and facilitated the spread of humanitarian considerations for the purpose of development.

Eine komplexe Friedenstheologie und Friedensethik

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland Mierzwa
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
The State ◽  
Ethical Approach ◽  
Difficult Question ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Preferential Option ◽  
Religionless Christianity ◽  
The Relationship

Peace has to be thought of in a more complex way, which is mainly stimulated by women from civil society. Many questions can no longer be addressed in a thematically and politically isolated or delimited way; chains of action and challenges are too interwoven. So far, too little attention has been paid to the preferential option for the poor, the approach of religionless Christianity and a feminist-liberation-theological-pacifist approach. Topics that are more marginal, such as a peace-ethical approach to money and the relationship between peace and health, are also addressed. Finally, the difficult question of how far one may still cooperate with the state when one is on the trail of peace is explored.

Local Institutions at the Crossroads of Environmental Regionalism in Southeast Asia: State-Civil Society Interplays and Tensions

2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-54
Author(s):  
Antonio P. Contreras
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
The State ◽  
Local Institutions ◽  
The Social ◽  
International Interactions ◽  
Civil Societies

This paper inquires into the implications of the different discursive imaginations on civil societies and the state from the perspective of the social sciences, particularly political science and international relations. It focuses on some interfaces and tensions that exist between civil society on one hand, and the state and its bureaucratic instrumentalities on the other, particularly in the domain of environment and natural resources governance in the context of new regionalisms and of alternative concepts of human security. There is now a new context for regionalism in Southeast Asia, not only among state structures, such as the ASEAN and the various Mekong bodies, but also among local civil societies coming from the region. It is in this context that issues confronting local communities are given a new sphere for interaction, as well as a new platform for engaging state structures and processes. This paper illustrates how dynamic are the possibilities for non-state domains for transnational interactions, particularly in the context of the emerging environmental regionalism. This occurs despite the dominance of neo-realist political theorizing, and the state-centric nature of international interactions.

scholarly journals Sinergi Pelayanan Zakat dan Pajak Dalam Upaya Mengurangi Kemiskinan

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (32) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jumi Herlita
Keyword(s):  
Public Awareness ◽  
The State ◽  
Tax Collection ◽  
Economic Problems ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Government

Zakat and taxes are two important sources of funding for the state. Both function to solve economic problems and reduce poverty in the community. But in reality the function of zakat and tax can not be optimal. BAZNAS and LAZ as an extension of the government in managing zakat can not be maximized in the collection of zakat funds as well as taxes. Although the nature of the tax is not specific to the poor, but also to the rich, but in fact the existence of taxes have not been able to solve poverty in Indonesia. Therefore it is necessary solution to synergize zakat and tax in order to increase zakat and tax collection. With bersinerginya zakat and taxes are expected to increase public awareness to pay zakat and taxes that can eventually be used to reduce poverty.

State, Civil Society, and Market in India: The Context of Mobilization

1996 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Oommen
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Economic Liberalization ◽  
The State ◽  
Theory Construction ◽  
The West ◽  
Market Mechanisms ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Communal Life ◽  
Intergroup Conflicts

Western societies have accomplished relative autonomy of the state, civil society, and market. The current thrust of social transformation in post-colonial and post-socialist societies also point in the same direction. This article traces the trajectory of autonomization achieved and/or attempted in these societies, and identifies the implications of the processes involved for theory construction. It is argued that in the context of mobilizing for change, privileging either state, civil society, or market would be a rash prejudgment. The possessive individualism of the West articulated in its rapacious market mechanisms alienates individuals destroys communal life. With reference to India, I trace out how the current tendency of privileging civil society as the sole agency to reestablish democratic values in past socialist societies-and relegating the state to the background-may foment serious intergroup conflicts. The recently initiated process of economic liberalization in the part-colonial democratic societies often ignores that there is nothing much to chose between the behemoth of the market and the leviathan of a state. It is suggested that only an equipoise between the state, society and market can produce a 'good society."

Social Programs, Third-Sector Competition, and Transparency

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yue Chim Richard Wong
Keyword(s):  
Public Debt ◽  
Third Sector ◽  
Income Redistribution ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Social Programs ◽  
The West ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Public Transfers ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Rich Countries

Why have the welfare states of the rich countries of the West, which transfer on average nearly a quarter of GDP from the rich to the poor, failed to alleviate poverty? And why has inequality widened in recent decades in these countries? The liberals in these countries—intellectuals and politicians—continue to argue for more public transfers. But if income redistribution could solve poverty, should it not have done so by now? The illusion that poverty can be solved through income redistribution is the key reason why so many rich economies have become saddled with public debt: in some countries it approaches 100% and even 200% of GDP.

scholarly journals Democracy and the Environment: An Ecological Economics Research Agenda

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-41
Author(s):  
Prakash Kashwan
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Ecological Economics ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Economics Research

In this essay, we look into two dominant pillars of environmental governance, the State and the market, juxatoposed with the varitiies of environmentalism--of the rich and of the poor--to create a mosaic for the ecological economists to examine how socio-economic and political factors mediate the framing, design, and implementation of policies and institutions meant to foster socially just environmental protection efforts.

Alternate Civilities: Democracy and Culture in China and Taiwan. By Robert P. Weller. [Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1999. xvi+172 pp. $28.00. ISBN 0-8133-3931-6.]

2002 ◽  
Vol 171 ◽  
pp. 741-779
Author(s):  
Thomas B. Gold
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
The State ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Social Sector ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
The West ◽  
The Family ◽  
Formal Organizations ◽  
Grassroots Level

Robert Weller has given us a virtuoso display of theoretical sophistication combined with rich primary data in a densely packed yet consistently stimulating volume. Recognizing the controversy over the applicability of the concept of “civil society” to areas outside the West, he elaborates the idea of an “alternate civility,” by which he means forms of association between the family and the state deeply rooted in society at the grassroots level (therefore not broad-based enough to qualify as “civil”) that, in his view, have provided the basis for Taiwan's democratic transition, and may provide the seeds for a similar political transformation in mainland China. He calls this the “informal social sector” and contrasts it with a sector comprising formal organizations, which are more likely to be co-opted by the state.

Progress for a Small Planet

Worldview ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 20-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudhir Sen
Keyword(s):  
Western Civilization ◽  
The West ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich

Because of Barbara Ward's unflinching effort to uphold the highest values of Western civilization she has, in the eyes of many, become a conscience-keeper of the West. Her anxious call over three decades about the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer has echoed widely. Although the call has fallen mostly on deaf ears in key policymaking circles, that detracts neither from its nobility nor from its validity.

scholarly journals Personal Law and Human Rights in India and Israel

2000 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Galanter ◽  
Jayanth Krishnan
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Human Experience ◽  
The State ◽  
The West ◽  
Christian Culture ◽  
Colonial Experience ◽  
Size Population ◽  
Religiously Based ◽  
Personal Law

Although India and Israel differ dramatically in size, population, and affluence, there are many important similarities. Each is the contemporary vehicle of an old and resilient civilization that expresses a distinctive, influential and enduring arrangement of the various facets of human experience. Each of these cultures underwent a prolonged colonial experience in which its traditions were disrupted and subordinated to a hegemonic European Christian culture; each had an earlier experience with victorious, expansive Islam; each has reached an uneasy but flourishing accommodation with the secular, scientific modernity of the West.In each case this was achieved by a movement that embraced “Enlightenment” values and in turn provoked a recoil from modernity/rediscovery of tradition. In each there is a conflict between those with “modern” secular views of civil society and those revivalists or fundamentalists who seek to restore an indigenous religiously based society. The secular nationalism that predominated in the struggle for independence and the formation of the state is now countered by powerful tides of fundamentalism.

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