Suchergebnisse

AbstractCurrent research suggests that negotiations which are more inclusive are more likely to achieve durable peace since they speak to the entire population. One way to ensure public support is through the inclusion of civil society groups, either directly at the negotiation table or indirectly in supportive roles. It is argued that through their inclusion there is a positive effect on the legitimacy of negotiations which in turn leads to more durable peace. Nonetheless, the reasons why and how involving civil society groups improves the legitimacy of negotiations remains little understood. This article considers the gap in research by using original empirical data to look at the peace negotiations held in Liberia in 2003 and Kenya in early 2008. A theoretical model of legitimate negotiations will be used to show in what ways the involvement of civil society groups can in fact make the conduct of negotiations and the outcome of an agreement more legitimate for the aggrieved population.

Nieuw opkomende nanotechnologieën, gebaseerd op het observeren en manipuleren op de nanoschaal, zijn een uitdaging voor de maatschappij. Er zijn allerlei beloftes, bijvoorbeeld beter voedsel of goedkopere gezondheidszorg, maar ook enige bezorgdheid over schadelijke effecten van nanomaterialen. Tegelijkertijd is het onzeker welke vorm de nieuw opkomende nanotechnologieën uiteindelijk zullen krijgen. Dit proefschrift onderzoekt hoe civil society actors (burgers en nongouvernementele organisaties, NGOs) op een productieve manier kunnen participeren als nieuwe dialoogpartner in de ontwikkeling en maatschappelijke inbedding van nanotechnologie. Voor nanotechnologie wordt momenteel een proactief innovatiebeleid gevoerd. Al in een vroeg stadium van de ontwikkeling, wanneer er nog veel onzekerheden en onvoorspelbaarheden zijn, wordt geprobeerd te anticiperen op mogelijke maatschappelijke kwesties met als doel ermee rekening te houden in verdere besluitvormingsprocessen. Een van de manieren is het vroegtijdig betrekken van civil society actors als nieuwe dialoogpartner. Van hen wordt nu verwacht dat zij samen met wetenschappers, industriëlen en beleidsmakers zullen bijdragen aan een verantwoorde ontwikkeling van nanotechnologie waarbij tijdig ingegaan wordt op maatschappelijke bezorgdheden, wensen en behoeften. Het betrekken van civil society actors als nieuwe dialoogpartner biedt in principe mogelijkheden om beter inzicht te krijgen in wat nanotechnologie kan gaan betekenen. Zij kunnen immers nieuwe perspectieven, ervaringen en dilemma's inbrengen. Hoe productieve interacties over nanotechnologie met civil society actors te realiseren, is echter nog onduidelijk. Het betreft een nieuwe situatie waar nog weinig routines en best practices voor ontwikkeld zijn. Dit proefschrift pakt deze uitdaging op door te laten zien wat er momenteel gebeurt in ruimtes voor interactie met civil society actors, en hoe dit verbeterd kan worden. In het vormgeven van ruimtes voor interactie wordt momenteel onvoldoende rekening gehouden met het open einde karakter van nieuw opkomende technologieën, met name de combinatie van beloftes en onzekerheden over uitkomsten. Het proefschrift analyseert enkele veelbelovende ruimtes waarin interactie heeft plaatsgevonden, en beoogt ontwerp voorwaarden te ontwikkelen op basis van dit empirisch onderzoek, gecombineerd met inzichten uit de politieke filosofie van Dewey en Arendt, voor ruimtes waarin goede interacties kunnen plaats vinden.

The transition to democracy in 1989 in Central and Eastern Europe is said to be the achievement of the dissident sector. In Poland the biggest power in the democratization process was the Solidarność trade union. At the same time many smaller grassroots groups from that time remain unnoticed and their influence on the democratization process is underrated. Such grassroots groups were responsible for organizing numerous strikes, campaigns on the issues of environmental protection and many others. They also brought novel protest repertoires and managed to mobilize different sectors of the society. This paper aims at presenting the complex environment of civil society actors in the democratization of Poland as well as presents the broader context for the transformation of 1989: structural preconditions, cleavages within the authorities and main waves of protest events. ; The research project 'Mobilizing for Democracy: Democratization Processes and the Mobilization of Civil Society' is funded by European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant. (Grant Agreeement no: 269136.)

The current wave of emigrants from Russia can play an important role in the country's political transition in the long term. As Russia's aggressive wars are a consequence of the personalist dictatorship that has embraced the imperialist idea, a regime change towards a more pluralistic model of rule would be in the West's strategic interest. (author's abstract)

The shrinking of civil society—a problematic trend in a growing number of countries—often involves enacting legal measures to curtail the activity of civil society organizations and vilifying and/or harassing such organizations. Poland has been at the forefront of this trend since 2015. This article examines the mechanisms promoting elite replacement in Polish civil society, with a specific focus on the ways in which civil society actors have responded to these changes and the effectiveness of the state's efforts to establish new hierarchies of power. The article discusses the complex relation between research on civil society and elite theory, and examines the anti-elitist discourses concerning Polish civil society and the strategies employed by the state to gain more control over the third sector. Next, the analytical section focuses on the ways in which civil society actors respond to state-sponsored elite change and examines three types of relations between the state and NGOs in contemporary Poland: (1) resistance, (2) assimilation, and (3) opportunistic synergy. In closing, the article shows ways in which analyses of the transformation of civil society in Poland and other countries can be enriched by drawing on elite theory.

1. Introduction -- 2. Conceptual clarification and analytical framework -- 3. Non-state actors as Transnational Agents -- 4. The history of game-changing in Southern Africa -- 5. Civil Society Actors and Comparative Region-Building: ECOWAS and EAC -- 6. Regional thickening as game-changing: gender and women civil society actors in Southern Africa -- 7. Stabilisers? Transnational communities in addressing gender insecurity in Southern Africa -- 8. Conclusion.

This article builds upon recent scholarship in critical peace studies that focuses on the role of civil society actors in formal peacemaking processes, in short, peace talks, and post-conflict peacebuilding. The article specifically explores the role of civil society actors in the Guatemalan peace process. The research addresses the possible tensions and potential complementarities in processes where civil society enjoys a mandated role in centralised, formal peace negotiations carried out between the state and armed actors in talks levied within the liberal peace framework. In the case of Guatemala, non-state actors participated to an unprecedented extent in the peace negotiations, and Guatemala has not relapsed into armed conflict. However, post-conflict Guatemala is a violent and unstable country. Consequently, the study challenges the assumption that peacemaking is necessarily more successful in those instances where provisions have been established to guarantee the participation of civil society. © 2017 Journal of Peacebuilding and Development.

This work widens the trajectory of research in media ethics and performance in West Africa by examining the role violence plays in the way civil society actors relate with journalists in Ghana's Northern Region. Findings from in-depth interviews with broadcast stations' staff in the region show that they adhere to the principle of self-censorship to avoid attacks, not from the expected sources of overzealous government agents or overbearing media owners, but some civil society actors. The experiences of broadcasters in the Tamale metropolis indicate that the intimidation of journalists on duty is still a common occurrence, their compliance with some ethical principles notwithstanding. One ramification of this is that government agencies and media stakeholders, professional associations, in particular, must wake up to the responsibility of protecting the interests of journalists in all areas, press freedom inclusive.