Download or read book Civil Society and World Regions written by Lorenzo Fioramonti and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2013-12-11 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Supranational regionalism and regional integration have for a long time been top-down processes, led by the few and imposed on the many. The role of citizens, especially those active in civil society, has been neglected by scholars, students, and commentators of regionalism. In reaction to the prevalence of these top-down models, a “new regionalism” approach has proliferated in the past few years. This book aims to further develop such a research agenda by providing an up-to-date overview of the contribution of civil society to world regionalism, from Europe to Africa, Asia, and the Americas. This is not only relevant as a research topic; it is also of critical importance from a political standpoint. As regions across the world experience prolonged governance crises, it becomes paramount to understand the extent to which these new regional formations actually reflect the interests and needs of their people. While old regionalism was accepted as a de facto elite-driven byproduct of both the Cold War and neoliberal globalization, the twenty-first-century regionalism—if it is to survive—will need to refocus its objectives through new forms of participation and inclusion. Regions without citizens are unlikely to stand the test of time, especially in times of crises.

Download or read book Regional Economic Communities and Integration in Southern Africa written by Leon Mwamba Tshimpaka and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-05-07 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines regional integration in Africa, with a particular focus on the Southern African Development Community (SADC). It argues that the SADC’s pursuit of a rationalist and state-centric form of integration for Southern Africa is limited, as it overlooks the contributory role and efficacy of non-state actors, who are relegated to the periphery. The book demonstrates that civil society networks in Southern Africa constitute well-governed, self-organised entities that function just like formal regional arrangements driven by state actors and technocrats. The book amplifies this point by deploying New Institutionalism and the New Regionalism Approach to examine the role and efficacy of non-state actors in building regions from below. The book develops a unique typology that shows how Southern African regional civil society networks adopt strategies, norms and rules to establish an efficient form of alternative integration in the region. Based on a critical analysis of this self-organised regionalism, the book projects the reality that alternative regionalism driven by non-state actors is possible. This book expands the study of regionalism in the SADC, and makes a significant and innovative contribution to the study of contemporary regionalism.

Download or read book The Civil Society Guide to Regional Economic Communities in Africa written by Odhiambo, Morris and published by African Minds. This book was released on 2016-03-02 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since 1963, when the African integration project was born, regional Economic Communities (RECs) have been an indispensable part of the continent's deeper socioeconomic and political integration. More than half a century later, such regional institutions continue to evolve, keeping pace with an Africa that is transforming itself amid challenges and opportunities. RECs represent a huge potential to be the engines that drive the continent's economic growth and development as well as being vehicles through which a sense of a continental community is fostered. It is critical therefore that citizens understand the multi-faceted and bureaucratic operations of regional institutions in order to use them to advance their collective interests.

Download or read book Civil Society Organizations and Regional Integration written by Paul Andrew Gwaza and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The central concern of this paper is to examine the interactions of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Regional Integration (RI) within the context of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS). It will seek to understand the interaction by exploring the traditional characters of CSOs as complementary and supportive agent of the state, and the character of RI as inter-state, intergovernmental, formal and official engagement. The exclusionary nature of regional integration in Africa and West Africa in particular is one of the biggest lacunae in governance and developmental processes over the years. The paper maintains that ECOWAS was conceived and sustained by a civil society arrangement and the construct “new regionalism” is only a restatement of the ideals propagated founders of the Regional Economic Community (REC) and not newness. It also maintains that the wind of democracy blowing across the world and within international institution only lends credence to the foundational philosophy of ECOWAS for equal participation and inclusivity. Indeed, the realms of civil society and regional integration provide policy makers with the opportunity to reevaluate concepts that worked in other climes before their transplantation in addressing local concerns.

Download or read book Rethinking Civil Society Regionalism in Africa written by Dele Kogbe and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2022-10-14 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book interrogates the extent to which regional civil society organisations have evolved as actors in West Africa. Examining civil society democratic participation in regional integration and involvement in regionalism of peacebuilding, it rethinks how we study civil society in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region. Beyond the functional typology of civil society actors as ‘partner’, ‘legitimiser’, ‘resistance/counter-hegemonic’ and ‘manipulator’, the book develops a new analytical framework to understand how organisations such as the West African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF) and West African Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) have evolved. Offering analytical perspectives of the actorship of specific regional civil society actors, the book draws attention to the tendencies in the previous studies of mistaking an action or misdeed that is empirically specific to particular civil society organisations within a region to the generality of the civic space of the region. Providing an alternative perspective aimed at invoking a new intellectual conversation about civil society regionalism this book advances a new analytical framework of action-based regional identity of civil society, regional presence of activities, regional capacities and societal impact. It will be of interest to academics and scholars of international relations, global governance, African politics and comparative regionalism.

Download or read book Civil Society Participation and Regional Integration written by Joel Straker and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Civil Society Regionalization in Southern Africa written by Andréas Godsäter and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-05-12 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book investigates civil society regionalization in Southern Africa. The point of departure is the study of 'new regionalism', which refers to the wave of regional integration globally since the 1980s. However, whilst the current regionalism studies undoubtedly contributes to a deeper understanding of regional processes, important gaps remain, in particular the relatively scant emphasis given to civil society. This particularly relates to regions in the global South, including Southern Africa. The overarching aim of this book is therefore to analyse the dynamics of civil society regionalization in Southern Africa, both empirically and from a theoretical perspective, through analysing the cases of trade and HIV/AIDS. The study finds that CSOs can be more active in regional governance than has previously been conceptualized and are also highly active in terms of constructing regionalization through framing issues and, to a less extent, making identities 'regional'. Furthermore, the book enhances knowledge of the heterogeneous nature of civil society regionalization. Lastly, it is demonstrated that 'going regional' is only partly an autonomous process and also has to be understood as under the influence of the deeper statist and capitalist social structures marking the regional order in Southern Africa.

Download or read book Civil Society Governance and Regional Integration in Africa written by Hippolyt A. S. Pul and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Civil Society and International Governance written by David Armstrong and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-11-23 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A PDF version of this book is available for free in open access via www.tandfebooks.com as well as the OAPEN Library platform, www.oapen.org. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license and is part of the OAPEN-UK research project. Structures and processes occurring within and between states are no longer the only – or even the most important - determinants of those political, economic and social developments and dynamics that shape the modern world. Many issues, including the environment, health, crime, drugs, migration and terrorism, can no longer be contained within national boundaries. As a result, it is not always possible to identify the loci for authority and legitimacy, and the role of governments has been called into question. Civil Society anf International Governance critically analyses the increasing impact of nongovernmental organisations and civil society on global and regional governance. Written from the standpoint of advocates of civil society and addressing the role of civil society in relation to the UN, the IMF, the G8 and the WTO, this volume assess the role of various non-state actors from three perspectives: theoretical aspects, civil society interaction with the European Union and civil society and regional governance outside Europe, specifically Africa, East Asia and the Middle East. It demonstrates that civil society’s role has been more complex than one defined in terms, essentially, of resistance and includes actual participation in governance as well as multi-facetted contributions to legitimising and democratising global and regional governance. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of political science, international relations, civil society, sociology, European politics and global governance.

Download or read book Civil Society Participation in Trade Policy making in Latin America written by Peter John Newell and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Age of Participation written by Lorenzo Fioramonti and published by . This book was released on 2012-08-01 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The CIVICUS Civil Society Index provides innovative information on civic participation and civil society activism across 20 countries, combining quantitative and qualitative data. This second volume in the CIVICUS Global Study of Civil Society series examines how participation patterns within civil society have evolved over time and how they have affected democracy. Lorenzo Fioramonti rethinks traditional conceptualizations of civil society, defining it as an 'arena' offering a spatial configuration between the state, the market and the family. He argues that civil society is a fundamentally dynamic and continuously evolving phenomenon that cannot be encapsulated into pre-concieved categories. The book pays attention to the different components of participation, including political mobilization, demonstrations and protests, public gatherings and membership of social movements, in the light of recent uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa but also the global economic crisis. Use of the CSI data allows a consistent and comparative analysis of participatory democracy at work across countries and regions.

Download or read book Integration in the Southern African Development Community Region written by Korwa Gombe Adar and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2023-01-17 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using political and public administration perspectives, this book argues that for democratization and integration to be consolidated and institutionalized, direct involvement of the people of Southern Africa is paramount. Democratization and integration are about people, the sovereigns, and not merely the abstract actors called nation states.

Download or read book Civil Society and the State in Left Led Latin America written by Barry Cannon and published by Zed Books Ltd.. This book was released on 2012-10-11 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Timely and unique, this innovative volume provides a critical examination of the role of civil society and its relation to the state throughout left-led Latin America. Featuring a broad range of case studies from across the region, from the Bolivian Constitution to participative budgeting in Brazil to the communal councils in Venezuela, the book examines to what extent these new initiatives are redefining state-civil society relations. Does the return of an active state in Latin America imply the incorporation of civil society representatives in decision-making processes? Is the new left delivering on the promise of participatory democracy and a redefinition of citizenship, or are we witnessing a new democratic deficit? A wide-ranging analysis of a vital issue, both for Latin America and beyond.

Download or read book Closing or Widening the Gap written by Andrea Ribeiro Hoffmann and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-05-23 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Combining normative analysis and theory-driven empirical research in a comparative framework, this volume clarifies and explains the connections between regional international governance, legitimacy and democracy. It focuses on the quality of democracy and the legitimacy of policy making in multilevel regional systems. The volume offers a much-needed clarification of confusing concepts such as legitimacy, democracy and 'civil society' in non-national political systems. It critically assesses the quality of democracy and legitimacy within different Regional International Organizations (RIOs); it examines how networks of non-state actors become a kind of transnational civil society and assesses their potential for solving legitimacy deficits; and it investigates the impact of democratic conditionality in different RIOs. The contributors deepen our understanding of a relatively new non-state actor on the international scene - the regional international organization - and investigate the potential contribution of transnational non-state actors to the quality of governance at the regional level.

Download or read book Civil Society Organisations Governance and the Caribbean Community written by Kristina Hinds and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-12-14 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a unique analysis of the participatory spaces available for civil society organisations (CSOs) in Caribbean governance. It reveals the myriad ways in which the region’s CSOs have contributed to enriching Caribbean societies and to scaffolding Caribbean regionalism, and also uncovers that despite their contributions, Caribbean CSOs (and civil society more broadly) have found limited space for involvement in governance. The author peers into Caribbean state-civil society participatory dynamics using in-depth country case studies (Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago), mini-case studies and evaluations of the approaches to inclusion within the regional institutions of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). This novel contribution to the Caribbean civil society literature uses these assessments to make a case for regularising state-civil society collaborative practices to enhance the quality of democracy in the region.

Download or read book Governing Regional Integration for Development written by Antoni Estevadeordal and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-22 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Developing countries have joined the rapidly growing global system of regional trade agreements (RTAs) over the past years. The drive towards regional integration has advanced with the formation of new markets and groups in Latin America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Oceania with few developing countries remaining outside these regional schemes. This volume looks at how 'getting governance right' is a central element for successful RTA implementation, taking stock of the quality and effectiveness of the monitoring of development country RTAs around the world. Organized by the main world regions and primarily focusing on developing country RTAs, the book also includes two case studies focused on monitoring in developed country regional agreements by way of comparison. The contributors operationalize governance in the context of RTA implementation with a more narrow and technical term of 'monitoring' and provide eight important lessons for assessing monitoring around the world.

Download or read book Regional Integration and Economic Development in South Asia written by Sultan Hafeez Rahman and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2012-04-01 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: South Asian leaders have made it a priority to tackle key regional issues such as poverty, environment degradation, trade and investment barriers and food insecurity, among others.