Civil society

 

Putting the ‘citizen’ back in civil society organizations: a final look at the CIVICUS 2011 World Assembly

Patrick Johnston
01 December 2011
Alliance magazine

The 2011 CIVICUS World Assembly has ended. This Assembly – the tenth in the history of CIVICUS – coincided with the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, which brought an added degree of poignancy to the discussions. Click here to read ...


Thoughts after the second day of the CIVICUS 2011 World Assembly

Patrick Johnston
01 December 2011
Alliance magazine

It is late Sunday afternoon and the end of the second day of the 10th CIVICUS World Assembly, being held in Montréal. There is one more day to come. I am a bit weary and almost ‘conferenced out’ but I’ll use this post to offer some initial observations. At the end of the conference, I’ll provide another post with some concluding comments. Click here to read ...


The Israeli summer: camping for justice
Jessica Montell

The Israeli summer: camping for justice

Jessica Montell
01 December 2011
Alliance magazine

This past summer hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets demanding social justice. While the Palestinian citizens of Israel were minimally present, and issues related to Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza almost completely absent, the protests have nevertheless put social justice on the agenda, if not yet social justice for all. Given Israel's uneasy position within the Middle East, it is interesting to look at this protest in the context of the Arab Spring.

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Approach analogies with caution
Thomas Carothers

Approach analogies with caution

Thomas Carothers
01 December 2011
Alliance magazine

When confronted with startling political events, we naturally grasp at ways to make sense of them. Historical analogies promise to demystify a disorienting present through insights from the past. As political change roiled the Arab world early this year, many western observers and policy actors quickly drew analogies to Central and Eastern Europe in 1989.

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The hope of Arab Africa – a perspective from the South
Malusi Mpumlwana

The hope of Arab Africa – a perspective from the South

Malusi Mpumlwana
01 December 2011
Alliance magazine

The uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East have taken the world by storm, if not by surprise. Palestine and Lebanon have always lived out their volatility in the open, but the long-term governments of some of the other countries that have since broken into open rebellion have always seemed to have the lid fairly tightly sealed. One wonders how this would have played out in the continuous South African uprisings of the 1980s. There are similarities and significant differences between the South African and North African experiences.

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Oiling the springs of democracy
Brendan O'Donnell

Oiling the springs of democracy

Brendan O'Donnell
01 December 2011
Alliance magazine

Natural resources provide the greatest potential for financing development in some of the world’s poorest countries, far outweighing other sources of funding. In 2008, for example, the value of exports of oil and minerals for South and Central America, Africa and Asia was over 12 times the value of aid to those regions. These resources – if properly used – can help the countries in the Arab region make the transition from revolution to good governance.

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Civil society holds key to future of Arab Spring states
Mandeep Tiwana

Civil society holds key to future of Arab Spring states

Mandeep Tiwana
01 December 2011
Alliance magazine

Although the uprisings that shook regimes across the Arab region were spontaneous, reflecting a breaking point in people’s tolerance of the system, organized civil society now has a crucial role to play in ensuring that the euphoria and momentum generated by the revolutions is not lost. This was the general consensus of a plenary session at the 2011 CIVICUS World Assembly, which brought together over 800 people representing civil society, government, multilateral bodies and the media to discuss civil society’s role before and after revolutions.

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Planning for human beings
Hania Aswad

Planning for human beings

Hania Aswad
01 December 2011
Alliance magazine

The spread of revolution through a number of Arab countries indicates a new era for the whole region. In order to fashion that new era in the spirit of the revolutions, those who helped make them and who form the majority of the region’s population - the young people – need help to find ways to become permanently involved in shaping their countries’ futures.

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Strengthening women’s rights in post-revolution Egypt
Ebba Augustin

Strengthening women’s rights in post-revolution Egypt

Ebba Augustin
01 December 2011
Alliance magazine

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Limitations of a ‘purist’ approach to human rights
Ute Seela

Limitations of a ‘purist’ approach to human rights

Ute Seela and Remko Berkhout
01 December 2011
Alliance magazine

Rebecca Adamson’s critique in the June issue of Alliance of the traditional philanthropic paradigm (‘one gives, the other receives’) and the concomitant lack of agency on the part of the recipient may be relevant beyond the field of support to indigenous peoples. Cultural values and traditional mechanisms for decision-making play a role in matters of conflict and justice in many local communities, whether indigenous or not.

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