[PDF] An Uncivil Approach To Civil Society eBook

Author : Matthew Schaaf
Publisher : Human Rights Watch
Page : 75 pages
File Size : 49,16 MB
Release : 2009
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 1564324990

GET BOOK

"In his first year in office, President Dmitry Medvedev has done little to reverse the Russian government's deliberate weakening of key institutions of a pluralistic democratic society, which marked the presidency of Vladimir Putin. One key aspect of this growing authoritarianism has been increasing, excessive government scrutiny and control of nongovernmental organizations, mainly through the 2006 law regulating NGOs. This report describes how the law and current rules allow the state to interfere arbitrarily in NGOs, by conducting intrusive audits, imposing onerous reporting requirements, and impeding NGO registration on non-substantive, insignificant grounds. It documents how the law allows the Ministry of Justice to take disproportionate, punitive measures in response to minor administrative violations by NGOs. The report also describes how the deeply negative operating climate for NGOs is exacerbated by new restrictions on grants and subsidized office space, and a growing number of physical attacks and hostile statements directed at NGOs and activists. President Medvedev in April 2009 acknowledged the difficulties faced by NGOs, including restrictions 'without sufficient justification,' occasioning some optimism that Medvedev will break with restrictive policies instituted under Putin. Soon thereafter, Medvedev initiated a limited process for reforming the troublesome law; initial reforms will affect only a fraction of NGOs and are limited in scope. Human Rights Watch calls on the Russian government to expand the reform to all organizations, and end and desist from further arbitrary limitations on the work of independent civil society groups."--P. [4] of cover.

Author : Stephen Kotkin
Publisher : Modern Library
Page : 257 pages
File Size : 44,96 MB
Release : 2010-10-12
Category : History
ISBN : 0812966791

GET BOOK

Twenty years ago, the Berlin Wall fell. In one of modern history’s most miraculous occurrences, communism imploded–and not with a bang, but with a whimper. Now two of the foremost scholars of East European and Soviet affairs, Stephen Kotkin and Jan T. Gross, drawing upon two decades of reflection, revisit this crash. In a crisp, concise, unsentimental narrative, they employ three case studies–East Germany, Romania, and Poland–to illuminate what led Communist regimes to surrender, or to be swept away in political bank runs. This is less a story of dissidents, so-called civil society, than of the bankruptcy of a ruling class–communism’s establishment, or “uncivil society.” The Communists borrowed from the West like drunken sailors to buy mass consumer goods, then were unable to pay back the hard-currency debts and so borrowed even more. In Eastern Europe, communism came to resemble a Ponzi scheme, one whose implosion carries enduring lessons. From East Germany’s pseudotechnocracy to Romania’s megalomaniacal dystopia, from Communist Poland’s cult of Mary to the Kremlin’s surprise restraint, Kotkin and Gross pull back the curtain on the fraud and decadence that cashiered the would-be alternative to the market and democracy, an outcome that opened up to a deeper global integration that has proved destabilizing.

Author : Eva Hansson
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
Page : 507 pages
File Size : 35,98 MB
Release : 2023-02-28
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 1000841065

GET BOOK

The Routledge Handbook of Civil and Uncivil Society in Southeast Asia explores the nature and implications of civil society across the region, engaging systematically with both theoretical approaches and empirical nuance for a systematic, comparative, and informative approach. The handbook actively analyses the varying definitions of civil society, critiquing the inconsistent scrutiny of this sphere over time. It brings forth the need to reconsider civil society development in today’s Southeast Asia, including activist organisations' and platforms' composition, claims, resources, and potential to effect sociopolitical change. Structured in five parts, the volume includes chapters written by an international set of experts analysing topics relating to civil society: Spaces and platforms Place within politics Resources and tactics Identity formation and claims Advocacy The handbook highlights the importance of civil society as a domain for political engagement outside the state and parties, across Southeast Asia, as well as the prevalence and weight of 'uncivil' dimensions. It offers a well-informed and comprehensive analysis of the topic and is an indispensable reference work for students and researchers in the fields of Asian Studies, Asian Politics, Southeast Asian Politics and Comparative Politics. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license. Funded by The Research Foundation for State University of New York, USA and The Stockholm Center for Global Asia, Sweden.

Author : Johannes Glückler
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 317 pages
File Size : 46,68 MB
Release : 2021-12-08
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 3030711471

GET BOOK

This open access book focuses on the role of civil society in the creation, dissemination, and interpretation of knowledge in geographical contexts. It offers original, interdisciplinary and counterintuitive perspectives on civil society. The book includes reflections on civil and uncivil society, the role of civil society as a change agent, and on civil society perspectives of undone science. Conceptual approaches go beyond the tripartite division of public, private and civic sectors to propose new frameworks of civic networks and philanthropic fields, which take an inclusive view of the connectivity of civic agency across sectors. This includes relational analyses of epistemic power in civic knowledge networks as well as of regional giving and philanthropy. The original empirical case studies examine traditional forms of civic engagement, such as the German landwomen’s associations, as well as novel types of organizations, such as giving circles and time banks in their geographical context. The book also offers insider reflections on doing civil society, such as the cases of the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong, epistemic activism in the United States, and the #FeesMustFall movement in South Africa.

Author : Michael Edwards
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 532 pages
File Size : 45,71 MB
Release : 2013-07-04
Category : Law
ISBN : 019933014X

GET BOOK

Broadly speaking, The Oxford Handbook of Civil Society views the topic of civil society through three prisms: as a part of society (voluntary associations), as a kind of society (marked out by certain social norms), and as a space for citizen action and engagement (the public square or sphere).

Author : Bin Xu
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 167 pages
File Size : 10,41 MB
Release : 2022-08-19
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 1509544003

GET BOOK

Against the bleak backdrop of pressing issues in today’s world, civil societies remain vibrant, animated by people’s belief that they should and can solve such issues and build a better society. Their imagination of a good society, their understanding of their engagement, and the ways they choose to act constitute the cultural aspect of civil society. Central to this cultural aspect of civil society is the “culture of democracy,” including normative values, individual interpretations, and interaction norms pertaining to features of a democratic society, such as civility, independence, and solidarity. The culture of democracy varies in different contexts and faces challenges, but it shapes civic actions, alters political and social processes, and thus is the soul of modern civil societies. The Culture of Democracy provides the first systematic survey of the cultural sociology of civil society and offers a committed global perspective. It shows that, as everyone is eager to have their voice heard, cultural sociology can serve as an “art of listening,” a thoroughly empirical approach that takes ideas, meanings, and opinions seriously, for people to contemplate significant theoretical and public issues.

Author : Lilliana Mason
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 193 pages
File Size : 14,15 MB
Release : 2018-04-16
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 022652468X

GET BOOK

The psychology behind political partisanship: “The kind of research that will change not just how you think about the world but how you think about yourself.” —Ezra Klein, Vox Political polarization in America has moved beyond disagreements about matters of policy. For the first time in decades, research has shown that members of both parties hold strongly unfavorable views of their opponents. This is polarization rooted in social identity, and it is growing. The campaign and election of Donald Trump laid bare this fact of the American electorate, its successful rhetoric of “us versus them” tapping into a powerful current of anger and resentment. With Uncivil Agreement, Lilliana Mason looks at the growing social gulf across racial, religious, and cultural lines, which have recently come to divide neatly between the two major political parties. She argues that group identifications have changed the way we think and feel about ourselves and our opponents. Even when Democrats and Republicans can agree on policy outcomes, they tend to view one other with distrust and to work for party victory over all else. Although the polarizing effects of social divisions have simplified our electoral choices and increased political engagement, they have not been a force that is, on balance, helpful for American democracy. Bringing together theory from political science and social psychology, Uncivil Agreement clearly describes this increasingly “social” type of polarization, and adds much to our understanding of contemporary politics.

Author : Saubhagya Shah
Publisher :
Page : 104 pages
File Size : 13,37 MB
Release : 2008
Category : History
ISBN :

GET BOOK

"This monograph analyzes the role of civil society in the massive political mobilization and upheavals of 2006 in Nepal that swept away King Gyanendra's direct rule and dramatically altered the structure and character of the Nepali state and politics. Although the opposition had become successful due to a strategic alliance between the seven parliamentary parties and the Maoist rebels, civil society was catapulted into prominence during the historic protests as a result of national and international activities in opposition to the king's government. This process offers new insights into the role of civil society in the developing world. By focusing on the momentous events of the nineteen-day general strike from April 6-24, 2006, that brought down the 400-year-old Nepali royal dynasty, the study highlights the implications of civil society action within the larger political arena involving conventional actors such as political parties, trade unions, armed revels, and foreign actors. he detailed examination of civil society's involvement in Nepali regime change sheds light on four important themes in the study of civil society. The first relates to a clear distinction between civil society as a spontaneous philosophical and associational form in the West and its mimetic articulation in the developing. The second addresses the nature of the relationship between civil society and political society and the way the former generates its moral authority and efficacy based on claims to universal reason, knowledge, and techniques of polymorphous power. The third theme explores the connection between the ideological and material basis of civil society and distinguishes between its autonomous Western origin and the recent growth in the developing world. Finally, civil society is examined in the international area: the example of Nepal reveals ways in which civil societies in the developing world are burgeoning as alternative policy instruments in interstate relations"--P. [4] of cover.

Author : Anthony J. Spires
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
Page : 228 pages
File Size : 30,22 MB
Release : 2022-07-08
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 1000605493

GET BOOK

This book represents a pioneering interdisciplinary effort to analyze Asian civil society under authoritarianism, a regime type that is re-appearing or deepening after several decades of increased political liberalization. By organizing its approach into four main themes, this volume succinctly reveals the challenges facing civil society in authoritarian regimes, including: actions under political repression, transitions to democracy, uncivil society, political capture and legal control. It features in-depth analyses of a variety of Asian nations, from ‘hard’ authoritarian regimes, like China, to ‘electoral’ authoritarian regimes, like Cambodia, whilst also addressing countries experiencing democratic regression, such as the Philippines. By highlighting concrete responses and initiatives taken by civil society under authoritarianism, it advances the intellectual mandate of redefining Asia as a dynamic and interconnected formation and, moreover, as a space for the production of new theoretical insight. Contributing to our understanding of the tensions, dynamics, and potentialities that animate state-society relations in authoritarian regimes, this will be essential reading for students and scholars of civil society, authoritarianism, and Asian politics more generally.

Author : Helmut K. Anheier
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 1722 pages
File Size : 28,20 MB
Release : 2009-11-24
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 0387939962

GET BOOK

Recently the topic of civil society has generated a wave of interest, and a wealth of new information. Until now no publication has attempted to organize and consolidate this knowledge. The International Encyclopedia of Civil Society fills this gap, establishing a common set of understandings and terminology, and an analytical starting point for future research. Global in scope and authoritative in content, the Encyclopedia offers succinct summaries of core concepts and theories; definitions of terms; biographical entries on important figures and organizational profiles. In addition, it serves as a reliable and up-to-date guide to additional sources of information. In sum, the Encyclopedia provides an overview of the contours of civil society, social capital, philanthropy and nonprofits across cultures and historical periods. For researchers in nonprofit and civil society studies, political science, economics, management and social enterprise, this is the most systematic appraisal of a rapidly growing field.