Dissertations / Theses: 'Diversity and civil society'

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DeWiel, Boris Cedric. "Democracy as diversity, civil society, pluralism and the limits of the state." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/tape15/PQDD_0026/NQ34666.pdf.

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Carr, Mike. "Diversity against the monoculture : bioregional vision and praxis and civil society theory." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape10/PQDD_0017/NQ46326.pdf.

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Costa, Crystal. "The influence of cultural diversity on civil society a comparative study of language variation and social stratifications in the developing world /." CONNECT TO ELECTRONIC THESIS, 2007. http://dspace.wrlc.org/handle/1961/4119.

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Teixeira, Marina Codo Andrade. "Políticas públicas para pessoas com deficiência no Brasil." reponame:Repositório Institucional do FGV, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10438/4778.

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A cada ano a necessidade de inclusão das pessoas com deficiência na sociedade torna-se mais aparente. Como conseqüência de diversas manifestações sociais em prol da causa, os governos começaram se dedicar a fazer políticas sociais que viabilizem a inclusão social dessa parcela da população. A partir de então houve a criação de diversos conselhos e programas como, por exemplo, o CONADE (Conselho Nacional dos Direitos da Pessoa Portadora de Deficiência) e a Política Nacional para a Integração da Pessoa Portadora de Deficiência, todas dedicadas a direcionar as ações governamentais. Ocorre que, mesmo com tantos esforços do Governo, a sociedade ainda não vê a real inclusão do deficiente em suas diversas esferas. Considerando este contexto, buscamos nessa dissertação a partir de levantamento bibliográfico e através da realização de entrevistas com atores envolvidos com o tema, analisar como ocorre o processo de formação desse tipo de política, bem como compreender onde se encontram as falhas que fazem algumas políticas sociais de inclusão da pessoa com deficiência não terem os resultados totalmente satisfatórios.
Each year the need to include people with disabilities in society becomes more apparent. As a result of various social events for the cause, governments began to devote himself to social policies that allow for the inclusion of this portion of the population., Since then there was the creation of various boards and programs, for example, the CONADE (National Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) and the National Policy for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities, all dedicated to direct government action. However, even with so many efforts of the Government, society does not see the actual inclusion of the disabilities in their various spheres. Given this context, we in this paper from a literature review and through interviews with key actors in the subject, as is examining the process of formation of such policy and to understand where the flaws that make some social policies inclusion of disabled people were not fully satisfactory results.

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Nordenankar, Malin, and Malin Nordström. "Mångfaldens interaktion : Skapandet av socialt kapital inom interkulturella relationer." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Institutionen för socialt arbete - Socialhögskolan, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-153089.

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Sweden has developed into a country of ethnic and cultural diversity. Research highlight the importance of reciprocal integration and intercultural venues. Minority and majority population must participate in the process of integration, by mutually accepted conditions. The civil society offers social venues but these venues are culturally segregated which prevent intercultural relationships to develop. Språkvän is a civic organization that takes on this challenge. By examining how reciprocity is created within these intercultural relations, knowledge of how reciprocal integration can develop in practice will be created. Reciprocity is developed through social relationships, and the relationship in its entirety must therefore be studied. Theories of social capital enable the study of social relations, based on three features: a structural, a cognitive and a relational dimension. The aim of this study has been to examine how social capital is created within the intercultural relationships, and participants of Språkvän has been interviewed. Volunteers and newcomers were interviewed in focus groups, based on a qualitative and hermeneutic approach. The study showed that there is a discrepancy regarding expectations of the relationship. In line with previous research the terms of the relationships are not reciprocal which endangers the cohesion and perseverance of the relationships.

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Broidy, Lauren. "“Ni a fuego, ni a pleto” as Jewish Lament: Re-Animating Diversity and Challenging Monolithic Assumptions in the Late Ottoman Empire and Nascent Middle Eastern Nations." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2019. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/2278.

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This thesis examines how Jews of the Ottoman Empire responded to newfound opportunities that emerged across the domains of the late Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth century due to the Ottoman bureaucratic reforms (Tanzimat). It challenges the discourses that argue that Jews engaged probing issues such as nationalism in a monolithic fashion. Rather, Sephardi and Arab Jews, based on socioeconomic status and geographic location in the Empire approached questions of affiliation with the Empire or attachment to new forms of nationalism based on divergent structures that informed their lives and personal political choices. This project explores the main avenues that Jews in the Ottoman world used to approach questions that animated the public discourse not just of Jews, but of peoples across the globe who struggled to find new avenues for belonging in shifting geopolitical terrains. For Jewish communities in the Ottoman world, four dominant avenues and attitudes emerged: traditionalists who desired to maintain the status quo; those who sought an Ottoman or Turkish Republican future; Sephardi Zionists who believed they were integral to Ottoman communal history; provincial nationalists who agitated for distinct regional identities. The thesis also briefly examines the Armenian millet’s socio-political situation during the nineteenth and twentieth century in order to show the ways in which the Jewish millet was both in tandem with broader nationalist discourses but were also less cohesively politically organized than other millets in the Empire.

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Jargalsaikhan, Mendee. "Civil society in a non-Western setting : Mongolian civil society." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/42779.

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Civil society development is one of the measures of the democratization process. Yet the examination of civil society is complicated due to varying understandings and approaches. This thesis suggests an analytical framework that enables us to investigate the existence of civil society space, its institutionalization, its actors, and the internalization of democratic values and norms. Using the framework advanced here, it examines Mongolian civil society, which is often described by scholars, politicians, and civil society practitioners as ‘vibrant’ and ‘strong’. The thesis concludes that while civil society space does exist in Mongolia, it is neither fully institutionalized nor respected by the state, by politicians, by business or by other actors. Moreover, democratic values and norms are not internalized because internalization is something that takes several generations to accomplish. The widespread reliance on informal networks undermines efforts to promote democratic values and norms as well as trust in democratic institutions. Mongolian civil society is therefore vulnerable.

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Lindberg, Jonas. "Religion in Nordic Politics as a Means to Societal Cohesion : An Empirical Study on Party Platforms and Parliamentary Debates 1988–2012." Doctoral thesis, Uppsala universitet, Teologiska institutionen, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-241250.

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In this study, I address the relationship between religion and politics in the Nordic countries, 1988–2012, against a background of increasing religious diversity alongside more or less continuous relationships between church and state. My aim is to analyse possible changes in the way religion is referred to by Nordic parliamentary parties, and in the way these parties use religion as a means to societal cohesion. I use theories on religious change and on the motives for using religion in politics to discuss a possible re-emergence of religion in politics, with the help of concepts such as functional differentiation, glocalisation and politicisation. I apply different forms of content analysis in a mixed-methods approach, using both substantial and functional definitions of religion. The thesis is based on four articles published or accepted for publication in peer-reviewed international journals: First, a study on religion in Nordic party platforms from around 1988, 1998 and 2008. Second, a study on religion in Danish, Norwegian and Swedish parliamentary debates, 1988/89, 1998/99 and 2008/09. Third, a study on the role of the majority churches in the final Nordic parliamentary debates on same-sex unions 1989–2012. Fourth, a study on Danish and Norwegian parliamentary debates on the wearing of veils among judges and policewomen in 2009. The major findings are that the references to religious diversity in party platforms and parliamentary debates have increased, which leads to a more complex understanding of the religious cleavage in politics, and that right-wing populist parties in particular politicise religion to achieve political influence. Furthermore, human rights have been increasingly used to address religious diversity as a political issue. I interpret these findings as continuous use of religion for societal cohesion in Nordic politics, through a model of different forms of politicisation using the concepts civil religion, human rights and nationalism. The thesis contributes to a better understanding of the religious cleavage, politicisation of religion, the impact of globalisation on the political debate about religion and changes as well as continuity regarding the use of religion in Nordic politics.

Cover photography: Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt (chairman of The Moderate Party) debates with Member of Parliament Jimmie Åkesson (chairman of The Sweden Democrats) in the Swedish parliament Riksdagen on 19 January 2011. Photographer: Melker Dahlstrand/Riksdagsförvaltningen.

NOREL
Impact of Religion

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Hodgson, Lesley C. "Experiencing civil society : the reality of civil society in post-devolution Wales." Thesis, University of South Wales, 2017. https://pure.southwales.ac.uk/en/studentthesis/experiencing-civil-society(5bee131e-c513-47ed-a9ad-d4c172fd074e).html.

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Discussions about civil society have traditionally been concerned with its relationship to the state and the market. The last decade, however, has seen the concept being increasingly used by those involved in public policy formation, both on the right and left of the political spectrum. Linked to ideas concerning social capital', 'trust' and 'partnership' civil society has moved to centre stage in both academic and political debate. Despite a considerable body of social science literature about Wales, especially with regard to economic aspects and the political culture leading up to devolution, there are gaps in our knowledge regarding the organisation of 'social' Wales; the institutions, networks and relationships that comprise civil society. There is little published data on the form and impact o f civil society in Wales and yet assumptions about the nature, size and type of civil society abound. Essentially, this thesis provides a critical analysis o f some o f the main ideas and clichéd views that have come to be associated with civil society. The work provides a unique insight into how and why people form civil associations and traces the impact of these organisations on the local community. Additionally it investigates the impact of devolution and the involvement of civil society with the policy-making machinery of state. In this way, the study fills some of the gaps in our knowledge about civil society in Wales.

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Ozdemir, Samur Zelal. "Civil Society In Iran." Master's thesis, METU, 2008. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12609610/index.pdf.

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This thesis aims to understand how civil society developed and evolved in the modern history of Iran and how it operates in the current day through the eyes of the actors of this realm. The fieldwork of the study was conducted in Tehran in 2006. This study, while questioning the liberal understanding of civil society, endeavours to contemplate a consistent framework in which the Iranian civil society activities could be located. The Iranian case proved the existence of a vivid civil society despite a repressive political climate. However, instead of comprehending the Iranian civil society as constant or developing, this thesis showed that civil society is in fact evolving according to the power relations between the state and civil society. In this sense, Iranian civil society is neither weak or nor strong but rather its strength is changing vis-à
-vis the relations with the Iranian state.

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Roy, Remi. "Anarchism and civil society." Thesis, McGill University, 1989. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=39212.

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This thesis endeavors to render anarchist thought more appropriate to contemporary political life. It attempts to show that what is needed is not an overarching theoretical system, but rather explorations of new organisational forms. I will try to demonstrate that supported by anarchistic trends in social theory, anarchical organisational forms are taking place to some extent in practice. These transformations, it is maintained, are a desirable political response to contemporary technological change.

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Pollock, Graham Ian Kirk. "Civil society and nation." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.250141.

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Tainio, Anna. "Talk about Civil Society." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS), 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-22497.

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In Georgia the non-governmental organisations are active and manifold despite the Sovietheritage of a trampled civil society and lengthy violent conflicts, frozen yet not forgotten.NGOs seek to deal with the problematic issues through information, strengthening civilsociety and building bridges between antagonists. An organisation consists of individuals andthe work is done through “their” individuals towards other individuals. Martha Nussbaum'sapproach on human well-being, which does not count income or ask for a minimum set ofutensils for a universal basic standard, is being offered as a more just way of judging nationalgrowth than the GDP. Nussbaum's approach of basic human capability cherishes individualityand different cultures, recognising that not every one wishes the same things in order to feelfulfilled. The capability approach allows persons to choose a preferred way of life, yet listsdemands of equal opportunities to all for reaching personal development and accessingpossibilities. By analysing the narrations of NGO-staff members thematically according to thecapability to affiliate, a relevant feel for the possibilities of successful and satisfyinginteraction in the NGO-sector emerges and some contemporary issues in the local contexts arepresented. The interviews were conducted in Georgia during two months in 2010, and thefocus was on relationships and experiences connected to work. Exercising the capability ingood measure is presented in the narratives as gaining the individual increased emotion andfurthering personal development. Areas where living up to the capability is hampered becomealso visible: affiliating may brush against existing stereotypical norms in the society. Yet theindividuals challenge the restrictions and in doing so develop their civil society andthemselves.

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Ganyi, Pamela Ayum. "Religious diversity in post-colonial multicultural Nigerian society." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/53406.

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Chapter one set out the aims of this study, and outlined the scope and methodology employed in achieving this. Chapter two dealt with the definition of some key terms employed in this study and also gave the historical background of pre-colonial and colonial Nigerian society. It highlighted the divisions that existed in the pre-colonial societies that make up what is today Nigeria, and pointed out that, apart from the major differences in culture, ranging from language to religion, these societies each had different political systems, the most organised at the time, being the Hausa/Fulani system, where the Sokoto Caliphate linked over 30 different independent Hausa kingdoms, creating the most powerful Islamic state in West Africa. As noted in this chapter, the caliphate provided the longest resistance to British colonial rule in Nigeria, and although it was annexed in 1903, some of its political systems adopted prior to British occupation, were retained by the colonial government. Unfortunately, the gradual transition of British influence in the region that is today Nigeria, from slave trade to legitimate trade and then to colonialism did not allow enough time for the local people to mount any formidable opposition to British annexation. In the beginning, the growing British influence was seen as a welcome relief from the oppressive period of the slave trade. The encouragement of legitimate trade and the coming of the missionaries led the local people to be more open to British occupation of the region, believing that this was for the greater good of the people. In addition, some traditional rulers who resisted British occupation were quickly subdued by the much more advanced military might of the British forces. Nevertheless, throughout the period of British colonial rule in Nigeria, cultural differences, while extant, did not necessarily lead to conflicts as the political and economic systems were managed by the British administrators. In addition, by the mid-20th century, the wave of nationalism movements provided a distraction from the focus on cultural affinities. Nigerians saw the British colonial government as a common enemy and they, therefore, overlooked their cultural differences and regional affinities and, together, emphasised a common national identity and a collective goal of attaining independence from Britain. When Nigeria became independent in 1960, the expectations for the country s future were positive. The population density provided a labour force and a consumer market which showed great potential for economic growth. This, coupled with the fact that commercial quantities of petroleum had been discovered in the Niger Delta region in 1958, led many people to believe that Nigeria was destined for a leading position, not just in Africa, but also in world affairs. Unfortunately, this was not to be, as independence from Britain did not bring with it the perfect society which Nigerians had envisaged. According to Falola and Heaton (2008: 158), by 1970, Nigeria s stability and prestige had been greatly damaged by a decade of political corruption, economic underdevelopment and military coups. Most damaging, however, was the culmination of these problems in a civil war from 1967 to 1970 that rent the country along regional and ethnic lines, killed between 1 and 3 million people, and nearly destroyed the fragile federal bonds that held together the Nigerian state.
Mini Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2015.
Modern European Languages
MA
Unrestricted

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Nugroho, Yanuar. "Does the Internet transform civil society? : the case of Civil Society Organisations in Indonesia." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2007. http://www.manchester.ac.uk/escholar/uk-ac-man-scw:58115.

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The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), particularly the Internet, has attracted huge attention. Despite the attention paid to research into Internet use in homes, government agencies and business firms, little attention has been paid to other types of organisations such as civil society organisations (CSOs).

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Wijkström, Filip. "Different faces of civil society." Doctoral thesis, Handelshögskolan i Stockholm, Företagslednings- och Arbetslivsfrågor (A), 1998. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hhs:diva-659.

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This is volume II in a dissertation in two parts. In addition to the papers found in this volume, the major publication is a book: The nonprofit sector in Sweden (Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1997, written together with Tommy Lundström). Our points of departure in the book were that Sweden, within previous international research, often has been described as a country with a small nonprofit sector. Based on a comprehensive set of first-hand empirical data, the first systematic, consolidated account of the Swedish sector, its development, legal situation and current position, is provided, and the previous results are questioned. The two initial texts found in this volume focus on conceptual tools. The first article, The Swedish Nonprofit Sector in International Comparison is based on a critique of the dominant US/economics perspective found in mainstream nonprofit literature. It is argued in the article, that earlier attempts to understand the Swedish nonprofit sector have been biased by a cultural ethnocentrism. The purpose of the article is to broaden the understanding of this part of society by using a socio-economic approach. The second paper, Hate groups and outlaw bikers: part of civil society?, addresses the issue of definitions. The aim of the paper is to test two existing definitions of organizations in civil society. This test is conducted on two extreme forms of organization, the white hate group and the outlaw motorcycle club. It is shown that – according to existing definitions – both of these organizations, in their ideal-typical form, can be regarded as civil society organizations. The final two essays are more explorative and the author has taken the freedom to experiment. In Strategic dilemmas for Swedish popular movement organizations, the object of study is the Swedish popular movements (folkrörelserna) and an experienced sense of crisis in some of the organizations within these movements (PMOs). It is argued that a number of major external shifts have had a profound impact on the traditional Swedish PMOs. Underlying reasons for the reactions of the PMOs are discussed and some interpretations of the effects are presented. In the final essay – Outlaw biking in alternative frames of interpretation – an even more limited and empirically derived phenomenon is taken as point of departure. The study focuses on outlaw biking and approaches this social phenomenon from three different angles with the help of metaphorical images derived from the outlaw literature. The purpose was not to develop a best possible frame for the study of outlaw biking, but rather to lay bare some already existing images of outlaw motorcycle clubs, found in the previous literature.

Utgör jämte: The nonprofit sector in Sweden / Tommy Lundström and Filip Wijkström, diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 1998

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Brook, David. "Civil society and the state." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape10/PQDD_0001/MQ43301.pdf.

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Whelan, Johanna. "South Africa : whither civil society? /." Title page, contents and abstract only, 1996. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09AR/09arw5659.pdf.

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Brook, David (David Andrew) Carleton University Dissertation Political Economy. "Civil society and the state." Ottawa, 1999.

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Nash, Sarah. "Social diversity and democratic society: A study of policing." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/9264.

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The area of police reform provides an avenue for examining social diversity and the democratic functioning of society. A review of primary and secondary documents on public policing and a case study on policing in Toronto highlight the challenges of diversity for police practitioners in liberal democratic society. The study assesses the new reform movement in policing in light of philosopher Iris Young's theory of citizenship. Congruence between the defining features of community policing and the culturally pluralist ideal espoused by Young highlights the potential of police reform in diverse society.

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Pallas, Christopher L. "Does civil society really democratize global governance? : examining transnational civil society engagement with the World Bank." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2010. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/3019/.

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Academics and practitioners alike recognize that global governance institutions suffer from a democratic deficit. A large body of literature suggests that civil society can reform global governance, but a countervailing body of work indicates that civil society may actually facilitate new forms of elite domination. This thesis seeks to contribute to this debate by examining the impact of civil society on policymaking at the World Bank. This thesis' core question is: 'Do data about the World Bank support the idea that civil society can democratize global governance.' Using three case studies, the thesis examines how civil society organizations engaging with the Bank interact with one another, set their agendas, and achieve their impacts, and how these organizations engage with local civil society and governments in developing countries. The resulting data are analyzed using a framework for democratic legitimacy derived from the work of Uhlin, Scharpf, and Dingwerth. The case studies reveal civil society is far more atomized than indicated in much of the literature. Strong ideological commitments, coupled with financial incentives, inhibit dialogue between organizations and make it difficult for international organizations to respond to the concerns of grassroots stakeholders. Civil society advocacy increases stakeholder control over the World Bank, but new channels of influence are controlled primarily by elite organizations based in the global North. Civil society organizations also utilize state power to achieve their objectives, soliciting the assistance of the Bank's major donors in ways that marginalize developing country governments. The thesis finds that civil society has abundant impact on the World Bank and that some impacts, like improved transparency and accountability, facilitate direct stakeholder influence over the institution. However, the thesis concludes that because transnational civil society consolidates that influence in the hands of a minority of stakeholders, it does not democratize the World Bank.

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Leonnig, Kathryn A. "Fair Trade and Global Civil Society." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2012. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/405.

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This thesis examines the Fair Trade movement as an international response of civil society to improve basic labor rights for producers. It explains the development of the Fair Trade movement and gives an overview of the organizations that currently comprise the movement. It also highlights some of the contemporary challenges the movement faces. The paper then provides a review of the literature written on global civil society insomuch as it is relevant to the Fair Trade movement. From this information, the paper draws conclusions about the success of the movement achieving its goals in light of its challenges. The paper concludes that the movement has admirable goals, but lacks good implementations and suffers from both undemocratic practice and inadequate representation. Lastly, it suggests policy changes to improve the effectiveness of the movement.

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Erlingsson, Maria. "Civil society and peacebuilding in Colombia." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för samhällsstudier (SS), 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-30084.

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There is a growing interest in how to build sustainable peace in the world, preventing countries from relapsing into violent conflict. Recognising that there are several important peacebuilding actors, this Master thesis takes its point of departure in local civil society actors as a peacebuilding force. For this interpretative qualitative study, Colombia is used as the case of investigation. This is as a result of a renewed interest in the country due to the peace negotiations that were initiated between the Colombian government and the largest guerrilla group in the country, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), in October 2012. Interviews with diverse civil society actors in Colombia were used as primary data, and in addition literary reviews of primary and secondary information have been added to the material. There are diverging views of what peacebuilding means, and one of the research objectives of this thesis is to draw from previous research to build a general framework for what peacebuilding wants to achieve, i.e., identify the international peacebuilding objectives. The second research objective is to compare the seven activities and functions of civil society in peacebuilding, as described by Paffenholz and Spurk in the Comprehensive framework for the analysis of civil society in peacebuilding, to see how the work of civil society in Colombia compares to the international peacebuilding objectives. The research shows that all seven activities and functions of civil society in peacebuilding: protection, monitoring, advocacy and public communication, in-group socialisation, social cohesion, facilitation/mediation, and service delivery, are performed by the interviewed civil society actors. When the activities and functions are compared to the international peacebuilding objectives, the research demonstrates that the peacebuilding activities carried out by civil society adds to the efforts performed by other actors to achieve stability and security, restore political and judicial institutions, address socio-economic dimensions and transform relations. Acknowledging the particular regional dynamics of the Colombian internal armed conflict and recognising the need for local ownership for peacebuilding to be successful, the conclusion drawn is that peacebuilding in Colombia has to be attained at the local, regional as well as national level. The polarisation and distrust between civil society and the state hinders a joint effort to build peace in Colombia, which further complicates the prospects for attaining sustainable peace in the country. Based on the understanding gained from the conducted research, this thesis affirms that peacebuilding must be adapted to the local realities and requires active participation from both government and civil society.

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Fenton, Natalie. "The media, resistance and civil society." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2004. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/7686.

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The relationship between the media and social/political mobilisation is a specifically modem phenomenon, contemporaneous with and responding to dominant capitalist communications. Today the trend towards concentration marches forth, policies of privatisation and deregulation of the media reveal a world-wide trend towards the commodification of information, culture and hence, of democracy. We are witnessing the privatisation of access to information and culture with the shrinking of public space in communications. My research begins from the standpoint that we can not ignore that we still live in deeply unequal capitalist societies, driven by profit and competition operating on a global scale. It is also undeniable that we live in a media dominated world with many different ideas and identities in circulation at any one time. We need to understand the former to appreciate the latter - the relation between individual autonomy, freedom and rational action on the one hand and the social construction of identity and behaviour on the other. The mainstream media as part of the political and economic infrastructure of society both disguise inequalities and frustrate any attempts to contest or reveal them. As a consequence dissident or oppressed groups have had to seek alternative means to be heard and to mobilise. These means include both organisation (investigated here in the form of the voluntary sector) and communication (including mainstream and 'alternative' media) within civil society. My research investigates why it is felt there is an ever pressing need to present oppositional views, how strategies of organisation and communication have been deployed and with what success. This research examines the relationship between the media and resistance - either as a dominant social force which through uniformity of representation encourages digression, or as a means of forging other identities and developing alternative political projects.

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Giatzidis, Aimilios. "Civil society in post-communist Bulgaria." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.322918.

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Kim, Sung-Ho. "Max Weber's politics of civil society /." Cambridge (GB) : Cambridge university press, 2004. http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb39148042g.

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Campbell, Joseph Trapp. "Civil Society and the Collaborative County." The Ohio State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1363898761.

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Freizer, Sabine. "What civil society after civil war? : a study of civil society organizations' affect on peace consolidation in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Tajikistan." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2004. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2305/.

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This dissertation seeks to explain how civil society organizations can positively affect peace consolidation based on cases of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community based (CBOs) organizations from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Tajikistan. It aims to determine how and why civil society organizations behave as they do in post-conflict, post-communist, contexts, and assess their contribution to peace. The link between civil society and peace has been assumed in research literature, but little comparative empirical research has been carried out to explain its nature. This dissertation is an attempt to fill this gap. I describe how liberal and communal definitions of civil society are applicable to the Tajik and Bosnian cases based on a brief historical analysis. NGOs are found to be the most significant organizational representation of liberal civil society, and CBOs, especially mahallas (neighborhoods) and mjesne zajednice (local communities), of communal civil society in the postwar period. I outline key post conflict challenges, classifying them as institutional, behavioral, political-economic and rights based. I develop a series of preliminary hypotheses on civil society organizations' possible contributions based on civil society and peace literature. These assumptions are tested through case studies of two NGOs and two CBOs. I determine how the post-conflict, post-communist, environments influenced organizations' choices of missions, programs, linkages, structures and funding sources. I conclude that experienced and charismatic leadership, clear missions, ability to build trust, understanding of donor relations, and well-developed linkages, were essential for success. I confirm many of the assumptions regarding civil society's potential to positively affect peace, but find some critical differences. One important conclusion is that not only inter-communal but also intra-communal organizations can support peace.

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29

Souri, Eirini. "Global Civil Society : A Study on the Transformative Possibilities of Civil Society as an Agent in International Relations." Thesis, Linköping University, Department of Management and Engineering, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-8530.

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Global Civil Society is a spectrum of diverse social actors, which offers an alternative to the making of contemporary politics, and towards social change; it provides us with a new approach to change the existing global order through development rather than confrontation. For this reason, global civil society has recently attracted increased interest in the academic and political discourse and consequently has left the margins and is placed in the centre of contemporary International Relations and political theory.

Utilizing neo-Gramscian ideas this study examines global civil society’s concept and core features and focuses on its role as well as transformative possibilities as an agent in contemporary world politics. This thesis demonstrates through the findings of our

case study on "Civil Society Organisations" Response to the Fourth European Union – Latin America and the Caribbean Summit in Vienna 2006” the alternative approach in dealing with political issues and actively working towards those ends.

This research’s conclusions designate the great potentialities of civil society’s organizations, if carefully managed to transform the contemporary world; as well as the necessity of addressing global civil society in order to understand the role of the social realm in reducing the gap of legitimacy in the contemporary world order.

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30

Fieldhouse, Julie. "Europe's mirror, civil society and the other." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp04/nq25046.pdf.

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31

Kamowa, Virginia Tracy. "Civil society and policy-making in Malawi." Thesis, University of Leeds, 2010. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.550284.

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Civil society organisations (CSOs) are potentially important public policy actors. Those who promote them believe that involving CSOs in policy processes will lead to greater participation of all citizens in policy-making. This is in turn believed to be crucial for promoting a responsive and accountable state. This thesis explores these assumptions by looking in detail at CSO in Malawi and their attempts to influence policy in areas of importance to rural poor people. Two thematic policy arenas were selected for examination: HIV/AIDS and food security policy processes: Using qualitative research methods, the thesis explores and identifies the ways in which different types of CSOs - specifically urban-based advocacy organisations and grassroots organisations (GROs) - sought to influence these policies. In particular, the thesis examines the relationship between urban- based advocacy organisations and GROs and its significance for policy influence. It also .' , explores the relationships between government and CSOs, and donors and CSOs and how they influence advocacy organisations' role. The thesis argues that even though CSOs are an important policy actor, several factors undermine their significance for policy processes influence in Malawi. The research findings indicate that a very small number of organisations undertake policy advocacy. GROs are rarely incorporated in urban-based advocacy organisations' policy influence efforts. There are few structured links between GROs and their urban counterparts. The thesis also argues that the aid donors' focus on a small group of technical advocacy organisations has contributed to a narrowed conception of CSOs. As a result other organisations (including GROs) that could potentially be effective in policy advocacy are left out. This means that there is no mechanism to involve the poor's concerns in policies supposedly made for their benefit. Therefore, the thesis calls for extension of current civil society policy advocacy practice and rhetoric to include grassroots-based organisations.

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Songonuga, Temitope O. "Civil society in Nigeria: reasons for ineffectiveness." Thesis, Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10945/45259.

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Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited
Nigeria has experienced high economic growth over the last 15 years. Hailed as the Giant of Africa, the Economist confirmed in 2014 that Nigeria had the largest gross domestic product in the continent. Yet, after more than a decade of sustained growth using international metrics of measurement, the country has exhibited dismal performance across multiple measures of development, security, and democratic governance due to the mismanagement of its economic resources. The majority of Nigerians attest to this in successive Afrobarometer Network and Transparency International surveys conducted between 2008 and 2014. This thesis acknowledges these facts but draws the reader into an equally important exploration of the role of the masses and civil society in engendering democratic governance. The underlying premise is that civil society can play a role in facilitating representative governance, especially as it relates to service delivery and the Nigerian populace’s security. The thesis posits that civil society has been handicapped in its ability to fulfill this charter for three distinct reasons: weakened traditional institutions; lack of social capital and trust between the masses, civil society, and the state; and the detrimental impact of a primarily oil- and mineral-based economic model. These factors all hinder the government’s willingness to work toward the best interest of the society as a whole.

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Garton, Jonathan Edward James. "The regulation of charities and civil society." Thesis, King's College London (University of London), 2005. https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/the-regulation-of-charities-and-civil-society(d12aba24-3db4-471d-89bb-8d512b1cdc30).html.

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34

Sater, James Nadim. "Civil society and political change in Morocco." Thesis, Durham University, 2003. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1257/.

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Since the early 1990s, Morocco has been undergoing a period of political change and refonn. At the same time, Morocco witnessed an increased activity of organisations of civil society, which have been able to initiate discourses on human rights, women's rights and also Berber rights. As a result, political change has been associated with increasing political space that has been accorded to these non-state actors. By focusing on the relationship between changing features of the Moroccan state on the one hand, and increasing civil society activity on the other, this thesis aims to answer the question of whether organisations of civil society have constituted a factor in their own right that has contributed to political change in Morocco. While the general assumption is that increased civil society activity leads to changes towards 'democracy', it is aimed to show that this assumption does not always hold. Therefore, the concept of civil society will be coupled with that of the public sphere, in order to illustrate how increasing activity in the public sphere has an impact on policy makers without, however, forcing rulers to embrace full, Westemstyle democracy. Consequently, far from considering the lack of civil society's 'democratic' challenge to the regime as a default, it will be shown that this has been one of civil society's most essential features and one which allowed it to rally for rights-oriented policies.

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Wainwright, Hilary. "Civil Society, Democracy and Power: Global Connections." Sage, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/3882.

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No
The term global civil society is hotly contested, admit the editors, who offer their own definition. Of the three editor-contributors and 11 additional contributors, nine are affiliated either with the Centre for the Study of Global Governance, LSE, or the UCLA Center for Civil Society. Contributions to this annually updated yearbook tackle the debate on definitions; NGOs; multiculturalism; the Arab perspective; oil and activism; globalism, democracy, and democratic power; prominent individuals behind the global civil society; and methodologies for measuring and analyzing it, among other issues. The last section gives a chronology of events. Of interest to social and political scientists, activists, students, journalists and policy makers. Editor of Red Pepper, Hilary Wainwright, identifies the conditions in which global civil society can reinvigorate or hinder the development of local democracy with examples from China, Brazil and Guatemala.

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36

Durusan, Firat. "Debates On Civil Society: From Centre-periphery To Radical Civil Societarianism." Master's thesis, METU, 2008. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12610292/index.pdf.

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The radical democratic conception of civil society strives for theoretically constructing and politically defending civil society as a social sphere autonomous from both the economy and state. As a position taken against Marxist and liberal theories, radical civil societarianism views the cultural and normative structures of modern societies as independent from and prior to systemically conceived economic and political relations. These structures is purported to give way to spontaneous social solidarity characterising civil society. With the mechanisms of domination and exploitation defined outside civil society, this approach ends up with excessive voluntarism characterising social relations thereof. Similarly, in the Turkish context, the dominant centre-periphery approach is predicated upon the external contradiction between the vertical state-society relations and horizontal relations between social actors. It is argued that the dominance of the former has caused the underdevelopment of civil society which is a particular expression of the latter. In any case, social conflicts are detached from structural political and economic mechanisms and conceived in voluntaristic terms. Consequently, the normative position radical civil societarianism takes vis-à
-vis social movements fails to go beyond an imposition of the arbitrary notion of &ldquo
civility&rdquo
through the discourse of self-limitation.

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37

Hannah, Joseph. "Local non-government organizations in Vietnam : development, civil society and state-society relations /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/5670.

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38

Lee, Hee-Jeong. "Discourses of civil society in South Korea : democratisation in an emerging information society." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2012. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/3746/.

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This thesis presents a late-Durkheimian theoretical framework on civil society as a sphere of solidarity and applies it to the development from modern society to an „information society‟. The framework is used to identify the cultural codes that exist in different information societies and to show their role in integrating or dividing the members of civil society. The framework is applied to South Korean civil society entering an information age coincident alongside processes of democratisation. Three policy debates relating to information are used as case studies to show the coexistence of, and conflicts between, a „developmental code‟ based on economic growth and anti-communism deriving from the authoritarian period of state-sponsored capitalism, and a later „democratic code‟ based on human rights. The three cases are: the Electronic National Identification Card, the National Education Information System and the credit information system. The thesis argues that the values of a „democratic‟ code are becoming more dominant in recent South Korean society, despite continuous challenge for its validity. The cases provide evidence that democratisation and informatization can operate in tandem to establish the dominance of the democratic code in public discourse in South Korean civil society.

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39

Pickert, Mary Alice. "Creating citizens : volunteers and civil society, Japan in comparative perspective /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/10752.

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40

Nylund, Jesper. "Civil Society 2.0 : Conceptualizing the idea of a." Thesis, Växjö University, School of Social Sciences, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:vxu:diva-1617.

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The purpose of this thesis is to conceptualize the idea of a “digital civil society”. During the latest half-century, technological developments in the areas of information and communication have been increasingly ingrained in everyday-life of many people. Not surprisingly, politics have also been affected by these developments. The concept of a global civil society is getting increasingly fashionable, and it is my belief that this global civil society in many ways is related to the technological developments manifested in the digital revolution. From this point of departure, it is my intent to depict the idea of a digital civil society within a conceptual framework substantiated by a number of cases of collective action where the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) has been instrumental. By doing this, my intention is to see if, and how, the ICT revolution is altering civil society organization, mobilization, advocacy and action.

The essay has five parts. First, there is a brief introduction of the subject where the main research issues are put forward. The second part describes the methodology and defines the central concepts; global civil society, globalization and the ICT revolution. This framework, elaborated more thoroughly in part three, will serve as both goal and means for the research as it constitutes the research method as well as a potential basis for further research in the area. In part four, a number of cases of civil society collective action are portrayed and analyzed in connection to the conceptual framework. In some of these cases, ICT is used as a way to support and supplement more traditional “offline” collective action whereas in the second part of this chapter, cases of more pure “online action” are described. With the features and characteristics of these case studies in mind, the aim is to identify tendencies supporting the idea of a possibly emerging digital civil society. In the last chapter, there is a discussion concerning the potential characteristics and outcomes of such a digital civil society. I also present a model describing the logic of the conceptual framework and the processes and concepts which are central to this study.

My conclusions are meant to create an environment conducive to further research on the subjects I have studied. First, it appears as if the logic of “networking” as power structure within civil society is favourable for organization, participation, communication, mobilization and action. As such, the networked, dynamic and horizontal character of the Internet seems to influence the organizational character of many civil society entities. Secondly, the Internet’s ability to allow for many-to-many communication seems to contribute to a broader and more inclusive way to debate issues of all kinds. Thirdly, ICT in some ways appears to “individualize” collective action, a development possibly related to the individual and isolating character of Internet use itself and the relative anonymity which can be enjoyed online. In sum, these findings suggest that the idea of a digital civil society broadens the base of collective action and, to some extent, reduces the costs of participation.

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41

Onbasi, Funda. "Civil Society Debate In Turkey: A Critical Analysis." Phd thesis, METU, 2008. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12609515/index.pdf.

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This thesis analyzes the debate revolving around the concept of civil society in Turkey with reference to academic literature. It argues that despite the seeming variety of approaches to the concept of civil society, there is an underlying commonality among the widespread usages of the concept. These seemingly different approaches in the end become the versions of the same hegemonic view. This, in turn, causes a vicious circle in the civil society debate in Turkey. The basis upon which this hegemonic view is built are the central premises of the liberal idea of civil society. With its constant reference to the strong state-weak civil society dichotomy
to the &lsquo
ideal&rsquo
of civil society as a checking mechanism over the state
and to a particular understanding of pluralism without antagonism and with an emphasis on consensus, this view underlies the majority of scholarly works in Turkey. However, important aspects of civil society are ignored by this hegemonic position. In order to render the concept of civil society a useful analytical tool there is a need to underline that state and civil society do not exist as distinct entities and that the relations characterizing civil society are not characterized by the liberal idea of harmonious pluralism but by uneven power relations resulting in inequalities as well as marginalization, exclusion, and silencing of some in the society. Thus, the Marxist conception of civil society can open the gate for a more fruitful usage of the concept of civil society for socio-political analysis.

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42

Perk, Mert Orhan. "Civil Society As A Driving Force For Turkey." Master's thesis, METU, 2011. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12613928/index.pdf.

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This thesis analyses whether the European Union acts as a trigger for Turkey&rsquo
s democratisation process within the pre-accession period. This study claims that although Turkish civil society has practically been characterised as weak and inactive, the impact of the European Union&rsquo
s politics of civil society on Turkish civil society organisations is a substantial contribution to democratic consolidation in Turkey, where the weakness of democracy has always been an obstacle for the country&rsquo
s integration to the Union. In accordance with this claim, three civil society organisations, which have been previously awarded European Union funded grant, were selected and a printed media screening study covering the period from the Helsinki Summit of 1999, when the European Commission took Turkey&rsquo
s membership application into consideration, to Turkish General Elections of 2011, was carried out. Through this study, the main purpose was to observe to what extent civil society organisations, having been financed under European Union funded grant schemes, provided contribution to Turkey&rsquo
s democratisation process.

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43

Einarsson, Stefan. "Ideology Being Governed : Strategy Formation in Civil Society." Doctoral thesis, Handelshögskolan i Stockholm, Institutionen för Företagande och Ledning, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hhs:diva-1853.

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Many civil society organisations (CSOs) worldwide today face declining memberships, mission-drift or that they no longer are seen as relevant in society today. Several researchers warn that this development may lead to diminished democracy on both the national level and on the organisational level. This dissertation presents a longitudinal case study of the evolving strategy formation processes as they play out within a group of organisations surrounding one of the oldest nonprofits in Sweden, the IOGT-NTO. This membership-based federation and its sister organisations are treated in the analysis as a non-profit group, or interorganisational domain, held together by a shared system of values. The group has been able to retain and even develop much of its character as well as remain true to its original mission. This study demonstrates the importance of a membership-based governance system, which is able to stay true to the organisation's ideological core. It also points at the importance of having processes that enable the organisation to change along with society, while also preserving a certain distance from its surrounding environment so that it can maintain its distinctiveness. By doing this, the organisation is not just staying true to its original mission, but also actively contributing to democracy by including new groups of members in the decision-making process. Finally, the IOGT-NTO case highlights how crucial it is to keep the ideological discussion alive within the governance system. In combination, these structures and mechanisms might enable a CSO to mitigate the iron law of oligarchy and revitalize itself. Stefan Einarsson is a researcher at the Stockholm Center for Civil Society Studies at the Stockholm School of Economics Institute for Research (SIR) in Sweden.

Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2012.

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44

Meikle, Lyne. "Child enslavement and civil society, an exploratory study." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape10/PQDD_0017/MQ47223.pdf.

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45

Boussard, Caroline. "Crafting democracy : civil society in post-transition Honduras /." Lund : Department of Political Science, Lund Univ, 2003. http://www.gbv.de/dms/sub-hamburg/362035385.pdf.

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46

Strydom, Jasper Francois. "States of mind : civil society in South Africa." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.249621.

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47

Obadare, Ebenezer Babatunde. "Theory and practice of civil society in Nigeria." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2005. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/1768/.

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What does the idea of civil society suggest in Nigeria? What does actually existing civil society look like. How do the notion(s) and reality of civil society in Nigeria relate to postulations in both global and indigenous literatures. These are the three critical problems that this thesis investigates. While the global literature variously denies, misunderstands, and ultimately misrepresents the reality of civil society in Nigeria, the Nigerian literature tends to perpetuate the same misrepresentation by uncritically apotheosising it. This study corrects the misapprehension in the two categories of analysis by attempting to show civil society in Nigeria in all its conceptual and actual complexity. In the process, significant insights into the nature of civil society, the state, and the market in Nigeria are generated. At the core of the thesis are two in-depth case studies which seek to exemplify the moral and thematic ambivalence of the idea of civil society in Nigeria. While one case study, an analysis of citizens' mass boycott of mobile phone services, shows up the 'civil' dimension of civil society, the other, an investigation of the protest spawned by the Miss World 2002 beauty pageant, exposes its 'uncivil' aspect. Drawing on these scenarios, the thesis rejects the existing hegemonic location of civil society in the associative spectrum and instead canvasses an understanding which integrates ordinary citizens into the heart of civil society discourse. The thesis also examines the implications of this definitional shift for predominant understandings of the idea of civil society, most especially its relationship with coercion/violence. While suggesting that coercion might be an inevitable property of actually existing civil society everywhere, it problematises notions of 'civility' and 'incivility' and appropriates the latter as a necessary logic of ordinary citizens' action.

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Chu, Ka-wing Jojo, and 朱嘉詠. "Civil society and democratization in Taiwan and China." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2001. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31952999.

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Hasan, Sacha. "Civil society participation in urban development in Syria." Thesis, Heriot-Watt University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10399/2596.

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This research examines urban planning as a form of governance, considering it a process where decisions are taken on urban land use, analysing the possibilities for wider participation of civil society in this process in order to promote potential sustainable outcomes within their related political, economic and social contexts. The geographical context for this study is Syria where, along with other countries of the south, such issues have been under-researched. Syria is experiencing a transformation period economically and socially. This has been greatly influenced by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). This effect is translated into the objectives of the Syrian national 10th Five-Year Development Plan (FYP) (2006-2010) of promoting stable economic growth and sustainable human development as two requirements to achieving a socio-market economy. According to the FYP, sustainable human development is characterised by empowering civil society as a partner in the development process and boosting its participation in all society aspects towards the achievement of ‘good governance’. This is intended to counter the misperception that urban development processes are limited to formal institutions of the government, and to include a whole range of society actors from all state, private sector and civil society spheres. This is consistent with the UNDP focus on civil society participation as a fundamental prerequisite of sustainable development, which is an essential characteristic of good urban governance. However, to date, the extent to which these values have been incorporated in practice has not been examined. This study adopts a case study approach and uses institutional analysis to examine the extent to which development institutions in Syria permit the environment needed to apply this principle in practice. In addition, the research investigates the areas where possible alternative institutional models can be developed within state-market-civil society contexts through defining new roles and relationships, mainly between civil society and the state, in order to promote an effective practice of civil society participation in urban development decision-making. The empirical analysis in this research highlighted the shortcomings of international empowering policies, where neither the role nor the potential of the informal segments of civil society are recognised. In addition, the analysis showed that the international policies of participative approach to urban development tend to be limited and do not sufficiently take into account the fact that structures of power are multi-layered, multirelated, and change from one context to another. Empowering options for civil society participation thus need to be informed by in-depth understanding of local contexts. The research suggests that the adoption of UNDP enabling approaches in Syria has potential. However, achieving this is a political matter, where issues of how power is structured and practiced by society actors (the state, the private sector and the civil society) in a given context should be considered. Thus, this research maintains a postmodern view of civil society participation in urban development. It argues for the need to promote a proactive approach to enable civil society participation in the countries of the South based on an institutional vision of planning as a form of governance, rather than a normative internationally accepted approach developed in isolation from the given political and institutional urban development context.

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Chu, Ka-wing Jojo. "Civil society and democratization in Taiwan and China." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 2001. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk:8888/cgi-bin/hkuto%5Ftoc%5Fpdf?B23457272.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Diversity and civil society'

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