Suchergebnisse

Civil society organizations are often seen as playing a crucial role in helping to mitigate the exclusion of weaker states, giving voice to marginalized communities, and raising environmental and developmental concerns within the trade system. The politicization and demystification of the global trade agenda by civil society also opens up space for a more diverse set of actors to influence trade negotiations. This article examines the evolution of the WTO secretariat's engagement with civil society within this context and argues that the dominant mode of engagement, as manifest in WTO Public Forums and civil society participation in ministerial conferences, is no longer fit for purpose. Rather it reflects an outmoded strategy that once served to underscore the existence and value of the WTO as an international organization and works to neutralize political contestation and publicly promote the benefits of free trade. It is now in need of reform.

To explore how civil society constitutes itself in weak states and how the state and other factors, such as a country's historical legacy, its political system, its ethnic composition, its majority religion, or its level of economic growth, influence the development of national civil societies, this study takes the empirical, analytical literature on civil society as a starting point (e.g. Alexander 1998; Guan 2004; Lauth 2003; Lewis 2001; Wischermann 2005). Notably, this literature suggests that the concept of civil society must be systematically contextualized. A relational understanding that consequently relates civil society to the context of action in which it operates is a fruitful approach to this endeavour (Lorch 2006). Building on the works of Alexander (1998, pp. 7f.), Gosewinkel (2003), Gosewinkel and Rucht (2004), Gosewinkel et al. (2004) and Croissant et al. (2000, pp. 11ff.), such a relational approach assumes that in real, existing civil societies, normative characteristics, such as "civility", the generation of social capital and the performance of certain democratic functions, can exist only in degrees. Concurrently, the relational approach likewise supposes that real, existing civil societies will also always display certain dark sides, such as clientelism and organizational hierarchies, and that the relationship between the democratic features and dark sides within such real, existing civil societies depends on the scope of action available to civil society actors.

European Union (EU) states increasingly deal with international interdependence through international policy coordination & integration. Joint decision making can be one way to deal with the negative externalities of interdependence. The question is whether European integration, an example of deep integration, has lessons for other integration schemes. Such lessons, if they exist, could help policymakers in other parts of the world plan their efforts better & perhaps avoid some mistakes. Many scholars believe that European integration is sui generis, but it is contended here that lessons can be learned & integration efforts in different parts of the world compared. 23 References. Adapted from the source document.

Annotation

Civil society in China: historical evolution, ongoing transformation, and future prospects / Zixue Tai -- Reconsidering the concept of civil society: insights from the experiences of Thailand / Thorn Pitidol -- Re-emerging civic activism: restoring the "eco-system" of the Armenian civil society / Yevgenya Jenny Paturyan and Valentina Gevorgyan -- The changing roles and impacts of civil societies: NGOs in Nepal / Medani P. Bhandari and Krishna.P. Oli -- Civil society in Zimbabwe: continuity and change / Davison Muchadenyika -- The multiple faces of civil society in India / Sarbeswar Sahoo -- The coalescence of the displaced: Syrian civil society beyond borders / Tamara Al-Om -- Putting the T in LGBT: trans and gender diverse (in)visibility and activism in South Africa / Zaynab Essack, Natasha Van der Pol, Sandile Ndelu, Joshua Sehoole, L. Leigh Ann van der Merwe and Heidi van Rooyen -- "Menyicil keadilan" (installing justice): civil society and transitional justice in Indonesia / Sri Lestari Wahyuningroem -- Authoritarian neoliberalism and Islamist civil society in Turkey / Zeynep Atalay -- Symbolic power and Brazilian civil society in an age of globalism and populism / Vinícius Rodrigues Vieira -- Postcolonial perspectives on civil society in Mozambique: towards an alternative approach for research and action / Abdul Ilal, Tanja Kleibl, Ronaldo Munck -- Civil society in Mexico: from theory to practice / Alberto J. Olvera.

THIS ARTICLE IS A REVISED VERSION OF BRONISLAW GEREMEK'S KEYNOTE ADDRESS AT A CONFERENCE ON "THE IDEA OF A CIVIL SOCIETY" HELD IN 1991 IN NORTH CAROLINA. HE TRACES THE CONCEPT OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN OPPOSITION TO THE STATE WHICH HAS IT ROOTS IN THE EIGHTEEN CENTURY. HE THEN ANALYZES THE CONTRONTING OF COMMUNISM AND THE POSTCOMMUNIST LETDOWN. HE CONCLUDES THAT A ROBUST CIVIL SOCIETY OFFERS THE BEST PROSPECTS FOR OVERCOMING THE DIVERGENCE OF STATE AND SOCIETY AND BRINGS CITIZENS INTO ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH PUBLIC LIFE. THAT ONLY UNDER SUCH CONDITIONS CAN DEMOCRACY BE MADE SECURE IS CONCLUDED.