Suchergebnisse

The fall of Suharto has drawn much media and academic attention but the focus has been on the elite perspective, the role of the regime and military, and little has been published on civil society. Gender issues are also often by-passed. Indonesia is at a crossroads and the greater involvement of civil society is being seriously considered for the first time by government representatives and demanded by civil society actors, political think-tanks and social commentators. This study, which covers the lead up to and ousting of Suharto up until the 2004 democratic elections, analyses the role of civil society in Indonesia's transition towards democracy by applying social movement theory and the framework of political opportunities. It shows the importance of social movements as civil society's primary catalysts for change, and the need for a strong civil society to take over where the social movements left off in order to consolidate attitudinal changes in the political, economic and social spheres. The actions and limitations of various parts of the Indonesian pro-democracy movement are discussed, providing case studies of three groups of actors – the student movement, the women's movement and the labour movement – focusing on times when they have joined forces to form social movements. The shortcomings and successes of the pro-democracy movement are discussed, as are the prospects for civil society in the future.

It feels like every year we have more reasons than ever to bring religion into the social sciences. I've now been editing LSE RGS for the whole of this Gregorian, Julian, and lunar year, and I've enjoyed every second. At the end of each year we look back on the different trends and discourses that … Continued

The article deals with the contradictory effect of civil society and civility discourses for the theory ofmodern democracy. The author concentrates on observed two main theoretical approaches towards the role andposition of civil society in new democracies. Following the cautious optimism of "neotocquevillians" thetransition from undemocratic regime to the democracy was influenced of universal and global spread ofdemocracy. In the transitional period civil society comes into play as the guarantee for consolidatingdemocracy. Scientists skeptics don't share this view and not consider civil society as the panacea buildingdemocracy.Civility can be described as an ethos of citizens conduct, necessary condition for real democracy. Socialcapital theory inspired discussion on the influence of "republican virtues" upon the modern democracy.However, the more important question is what type of civil society promotes democracy.The manifestations of civility discourse complicated the creation of liberal democracy at the initial stage ofpostcommunist transformations in East and Central European countries. Seeking more authentic reflection ofmodern democracy in their own country Lithuanian social scientists should: 1) discard all the uncriticalapproaches to the Western models of civil society; 2) propose the original decision while trying to solve thedilemma of modern democracy, because the one suggested by L. Siedentop is hardly applicable for societieswhich lack the liberal hinge.

Civil Society has emerged as one of the most celebrated concept of the twentieth and the twenty-first centuries. It offers practices that are the means and certain normative ideals that are the ends to be achieved for the preservation of democracy and expansion of the process of democratization. When available practices fail, reasons have been sought in the ideals being too lofty, and when the ideals looked minimalist, the blame has been shifted to the nature of practices being free-floating and bereft of definitive borders. Politics of Post-Civil Society is an attempt to

Civil Society became an important theme in the recent discussion of political or social theory. Civil Society is playing a substantial role for the legislation process. We can find it especially in the activities of international NGO. It gives a new aspect of the relationship between state and society, and legal philosophically speaking, of validity of law. Activities of Civil Society are socially recognized and their support systems are gradually institutionalized also domestic in Japan. But Japanese NPO has its own weak point, which arises from the political structure of our society.

This book is about Pentoutopia - the model of a good society. It shows how a society could be, how a society should be - a society where everyone is as free as possible, where all institutions are as democratic as possible, where all people have (relatively) equal conditions, where life is just, and where systems and processes are sustainable. The book illustrates comprehensively and in detail how institutions, organisations, the economy and society can be based on, and function according to, the principles of freedom, democracy, equality, justice and sustainability. Moreover, it demonstrates how Pentoutopia works, how its people and institutions establish and maintain a society that is not just a distant utopia but a realistic, achievable and doable utopia

Civil society is one of the most contentious terms in political thought. There is considerable, and highly significant, difference between academic debate about the meaning of 'civil society' and the way the term is mobilized in international development discourse. In particular, narratives of civil society in international development are often dominated by reference to organizational descriptions and measurability. But I would like to suggest here that the term should be reclaimed as a way of giving meaning to the stories of the everyday lives of the people who create, shape and embody civil society. Used in this way, the idea of civil society can be understood as intersecting emotions, discourses and practices and can add to the body of scholarly work that nurtures and values everyday life as a lens through which to view wider social processes. Paying attention to the everyday life of civil society may have implications for that way the civil society is engaged with academically, and also has the potential to refresh how civil society is thought about in development practice.

The 'Civil Society' is the newest factor in the development
equation, and the strengthening of civil society is• the latest addition
to the agenda of development. This emphasis necessitates a probe into
the structure of Pakistan's civil society. The civil society in
Pakistan-or anywhere else-has both the traditional and modern
components. It is made up of institutions and organisations that stand
between the state and the individuals as well as communities. They
regulate the collective life at the intermediate level and act as
mobilisers of people's opinions and actions. Pakistan's civil society is
not entirely constituted by NGOs and special interest groups. It has
Beradaris, bazaar associations, and NGOs. The .paper offers two
conclusions: (I) Pakistans civil society has evolved through three
phases .and is divided in the traditional. and modern tracks. In recent
times, it has fractured along ethnic and sectarian lines and the
denominational interests have come to dominate. (2) The state and the
civil society evolve in tandem. Without an effective state, there can
not be a strong and democratic civil society.

This article offers an analysis and critique of the concept of civil society and its relationship to neoliberalism as an economic and political project. The author argues that the high level of imprecision in the usage of civil society has enabled both opponents and advocates of neoliberal policies to claim it. We forget that civil society must be understood as a stratified body whose members occupy specific class positions and, therefore, contend for control of vital resources. The author's critique is largely based on the ignoring of class among those who study the intersection of neoliberalism and civil society. In the second part of this article, the author offers an illustration by focusing on Mexico's recent history of democratization in tandem with the application of neoliberal policies. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Inc., copyright 2007 The American Academy of Political and Social Science.]