Chapter 9 assesses the more clearly negative trend in global civil society: the increasing attacks meted out by regimes against activists. As this phenomenon becomes more serious and widespread, so activists intensify their efforts to develop new and informal forms of activism as a means to decrease their vulnerability to repression. The chapter critically examines the extent to which new civic activism can help mitigate these attacks against global civil society.
Chapter 4 assesses the results of recent mass protests. It distinguishes cases of success, partial success, and failure. It then evaluates competing explanations for this variation in outcomes, suggesting that no single factor on its own can account for the difference in protest impact.
Chapter 3 details the spread of mass protests to every region around the world in recent years. It presents data to show the unprecedented intensity of this wave of protest. The chapter then offers examples of the main protests that have taken place over the last several years. It assesses the main features of these protests, their different triggers, and the similarities and differences between them.
Chapter 2 presents an overview of emerging types of civic activism. It categorizes the different forms and styles of the civic activism that has gained presence and influence in recent years. It then provides examples from around the world. The chapter explains how this mapping of new organizational forms is the essential conceptual base from which an assessment of contemporary civil society must proceed.
Chapter 6 looks at the subject of digital activism. While this is an exhaustively covered topic, the chapter relates it more specifically to the debates relevant to new civic activism. Weighing the benefits and downsides of digital technology against each other, the chapter observes the beginning of a new phase of debates about the combining of online and offline activism.
The introduction outlines the reasons why it is necessary to examine the changing shape of civic activism around the world. It lays out the book’s main aims and a summary of its core arguments.
Chapter 5 examines the relationship between the emerging civic activism and more traditional NGOs. It notes that relations between “new” and “old” activists have in many cases been tense and brittle. However, in a growing number of cases these alternative forms of civic organization are finding ways to work together. The chapter maps out a possible future division of labor between different kinds of activism.
The conclusion revisits the core issues of the book, providing an overview of the reach and significance of the new activism, the varied drivers of this phenomenon, the recent evolution in mass protests, what this activism means for democracy, and the policy implications for international organizations of the changing shape of global civil society.
Chapter 8 moves into the more policy-oriented realm of international support for civil society. It looks at how far donors are shifting away from partnering with traditional NGOs to support new types of activism. It finds evidence of some such shift but notes that the new activism requires a far more fundamental change in the way that the international community engages with civil society actors.
Chapter 7 assesses the broader ramifications of the different aspects of the new civic activism for democracy. It argues that the emerging activism is not a panacea for reviving democracy but also rejects critics’ assertions that it is dangerous for good-quality democratic politics. Rather, the emerging activism will change the shape of democracy; the chapter explains exactly how.
