Kerianne Piester
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198781837
- eISBN:
- 9780191598968
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198781830.003.0019
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
Responding to the crisis of shrinking state budgets and rising social demands in the 1980s, the Mexican government experimented with a new participatory poverty alleviation model. Targeting the poor ...
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Responding to the crisis of shrinking state budgets and rising social demands in the 1980s, the Mexican government experimented with a new participatory poverty alleviation model. Targeting the poor was seen as a means of undermining mass protest against austerity measures and to address the crisis of Mexico's traditional corporate institutions for representation and control. Facing new party competition and the expansion of autonomous grassroots organizations, the PRI government sought to create new linkages with society through a series of poverty programmes. Examines the Popular Housing Fund, the National Food Distribution Program, and the Solidarity Fund. Clientelism persisted in the first two funds. Within Solidarity, the emphasis of the funds on demand‐based projects opened up new spaces for grassroots organizations to participate in a more autonomous fashion. This proved to be mixed success, dependent on local political conditions and pre‐existing community autonomy.Less
Responding to the crisis of shrinking state budgets and rising social demands in the 1980s, the Mexican government experimented with a new participatory poverty alleviation model. Targeting the poor was seen as a means of undermining mass protest against austerity measures and to address the crisis of Mexico's traditional corporate institutions for representation and control. Facing new party competition and the expansion of autonomous grassroots organizations, the PRI government sought to create new linkages with society through a series of poverty programmes. Examines the Popular Housing Fund, the National Food Distribution Program, and the Solidarity Fund. Clientelism persisted in the first two funds. Within Solidarity, the emphasis of the funds on demand‐based projects opened up new spaces for grassroots organizations to participate in a more autonomous fashion. This proved to be mixed success, dependent on local political conditions and pre‐existing community autonomy.
Rachel Murray
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199578986
- eISBN:
- 9780191595202
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199578986.003.0014
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration, Public International Law
This chapter examines the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the African human rights mechanism and their contribution to the development of issues relating to human security. It first ...
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This chapter examines the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the African human rights mechanism and their contribution to the development of issues relating to human security. It first outlines how NGOs can work with the African Commission before detailing the impact of their involvement on the human security agenda. It shows that NGOs have been central to the functioning and development of the African human rights system. Key to the drafting of the African Charter, supporting its Commission, staffing its headquarters, funding its activities, holding seminars, developing its publicity, submitting cases, and creating special rapporteurs and working groups, it is clear that the African Commission would not be in the position it is at present without their support.Less
This chapter examines the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the African human rights mechanism and their contribution to the development of issues relating to human security. It first outlines how NGOs can work with the African Commission before detailing the impact of their involvement on the human security agenda. It shows that NGOs have been central to the functioning and development of the African human rights system. Key to the drafting of the African Charter, supporting its Commission, staffing its headquarters, funding its activities, holding seminars, developing its publicity, submitting cases, and creating special rapporteurs and working groups, it is clear that the African Commission would not be in the position it is at present without their support.
Rachel Sieder
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199240906
- eISBN:
- 9780191598869
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199240906.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
This chapter considers the role of ‘memory politics’ – understood as the combination of official and unofficial attempts to deal with the legacy of past violations – in the struggle for ...
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This chapter considers the role of ‘memory politics’ – understood as the combination of official and unofficial attempts to deal with the legacy of past violations – in the struggle for democratization in Central America: official initiatives can include truth commissions, amnesty dispensations, criminal investigations and prosecutions, and a range of institutional reforms aimed at redressing the previous failure of the state to guarantee human rights; unofficial initiatives developed by civil society actors to confront the past can include investigations of violations, legal actions, and different kinds of commemorative acts and exercises in collective memory. Memory politics operates at multiple levels and involves a diversity of agents, including local communities, national and international non-governmental human rights organizations (HROs), governments, the media, and, in the case of Central America, the UN; however, it is suggested here that its long-term effects in any national context depend on the interaction between official and unofficial efforts to address the legacies of the past. The experiences of memory politics analysed in this chapter are those of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, the three Central American countries that during the 1990s undertook official processes of investigating past violations of human rights. The precise nature of memory politics and the impact it has had varied considerably in these three countries, and it is suggested that four interrelated factors are central to explaining differences between the respective national experiences: the first is the specific political and social legacies of human rights abuse in each country; the second concerns the circumstances of the transition from war to peace, specifically the prevailing balance of forces and the trade-off between truth and justice that this engendered in each case; the third is the role of local HROs and civil society in general in the politics of memory; and the fourth is the role of international governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in efforts to uncover the truth about the past and to address the consequences of violations. The first three sections of the chapter compare the legacies of human rights abuses, the transitional trade-offs between truth and justice, and the role of civil society organizations and international actors in the memory politics of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala; the final section considers the impact of memory politics on the prospects for democracy in these countries.Less
This chapter considers the role of ‘memory politics’ – understood as the combination of official and unofficial attempts to deal with the legacy of past violations – in the struggle for democratization in Central America: official initiatives can include truth commissions, amnesty dispensations, criminal investigations and prosecutions, and a range of institutional reforms aimed at redressing the previous failure of the state to guarantee human rights; unofficial initiatives developed by civil society actors to confront the past can include investigations of violations, legal actions, and different kinds of commemorative acts and exercises in collective memory. Memory politics operates at multiple levels and involves a diversity of agents, including local communities, national and international non-governmental human rights organizations (HROs), governments, the media, and, in the case of Central America, the UN; however, it is suggested here that its long-term effects in any national context depend on the interaction between official and unofficial efforts to address the legacies of the past. The experiences of memory politics analysed in this chapter are those of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, the three Central American countries that during the 1990s undertook official processes of investigating past violations of human rights. The precise nature of memory politics and the impact it has had varied considerably in these three countries, and it is suggested that four interrelated factors are central to explaining differences between the respective national experiences: the first is the specific political and social legacies of human rights abuse in each country; the second concerns the circumstances of the transition from war to peace, specifically the prevailing balance of forces and the trade-off between truth and justice that this engendered in each case; the third is the role of local HROs and civil society in general in the politics of memory; and the fourth is the role of international governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in efforts to uncover the truth about the past and to address the consequences of violations. The first three sections of the chapter compare the legacies of human rights abuses, the transitional trade-offs between truth and justice, and the role of civil society organizations and international actors in the memory politics of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala; the final section considers the impact of memory politics on the prospects for democracy in these countries.
Richard Caplan
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199263455
- eISBN:
- 9780191602726
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199263450.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Although international administrators wield enormous power, they are not directly accountable to the populations over which they rule. Strictly speaking, a transitional administrator is accountable ...
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Although international administrators wield enormous power, they are not directly accountable to the populations over which they rule. Strictly speaking, a transitional administrator is accountable to the international body that appoints him or her. The lack of transparency is one way in which the issue of accountability manifests itself: key decisions may be taken by international authorities without sufficient public explanation offered for the reasoning behind them, creating the impression of arbitrary rule. Limited accountability does not, however, mean the total absence of mechanisms for local scrutiny. Discusses what mechanisms exist to help ensure that international authority is exercised on behalf of, and for the benefit of, the local population. Are these mechanisms adequate and, if not, how can accountability be strengthened?Less
Although international administrators wield enormous power, they are not directly accountable to the populations over which they rule. Strictly speaking, a transitional administrator is accountable to the international body that appoints him or her. The lack of transparency is one way in which the issue of accountability manifests itself: key decisions may be taken by international authorities without sufficient public explanation offered for the reasoning behind them, creating the impression of arbitrary rule. Limited accountability does not, however, mean the total absence of mechanisms for local scrutiny. Discusses what mechanisms exist to help ensure that international authority is exercised on behalf of, and for the benefit of, the local population. Are these mechanisms adequate and, if not, how can accountability be strengthened?
John S. Dryzek
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199250431
- eISBN:
- 9780191717253
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019925043X.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Globalization means that political control moves into the international system. Transnational democracy can follow suit, through democratization of the discourses that pervade and coordinate ...
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Globalization means that political control moves into the international system. Transnational democracy can follow suit, through democratization of the discourses that pervade and coordinate international politics. Transnational networks of non‐governmental organizations are important.Less
Globalization means that political control moves into the international system. Transnational democracy can follow suit, through democratization of the discourses that pervade and coordinate international politics. Transnational networks of non‐governmental organizations are important.
Sydney D. Bailey and Sam Daws
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198280736
- eISBN:
- 9780191598746
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198280734.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Discusses relations of the UN Security Council with other organs. The first organ discussed is the UN Military Staff Committee, for which a chronology of activities and instructions is given for the ...
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Discusses relations of the UN Security Council with other organs. The first organ discussed is the UN Military Staff Committee, for which a chronology of activities and instructions is given for the period 1946–1996. The next is the UN General Assembly: aspects of this body discussed include elections and appointments, annual and special reports, threats to peace and security, special sessions, subsidiary organs, action relating to UN membership, financing peacekeeping operations, and the election of non‐members of the Council. Other organs discussed are the UN Economic and Social Council, the UN Trusteeship Council (now of historical interest only), the UN International Court of Justice, and non‐governmental organizations. The final section of the chapter discusses the appointment of the Secretary‐General of the UN.Less
Discusses relations of the UN Security Council with other organs. The first organ discussed is the UN Military Staff Committee, for which a chronology of activities and instructions is given for the period 1946–1996. The next is the UN General Assembly: aspects of this body discussed include elections and appointments, annual and special reports, threats to peace and security, special sessions, subsidiary organs, action relating to UN membership, financing peacekeeping operations, and the election of non‐members of the Council. Other organs discussed are the UN Economic and Social Council, the UN Trusteeship Council (now of historical interest only), the UN International Court of Justice, and non‐governmental organizations. The final section of the chapter discusses the appointment of the Secretary‐General of the UN.
Gil Loescher
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199246915
- eISBN:
- 9780191599781
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199246912.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Beginning with the establishment by the League of Nations of the first High Commissioner for Refugees in 1921, the scope and functions of assistance programmes for refugees gradually expanded, as ...
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Beginning with the establishment by the League of Nations of the first High Commissioner for Refugees in 1921, the scope and functions of assistance programmes for refugees gradually expanded, as efforts were made to regularize the status and control of stateless and denationalized people. During and after World War II, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Agency (UNRRA) and the International Refugee Organization (IRO) further expanded the international organizational framework for refugees. Since 1951, an international refugee regime—composed of UNHCR and a network of other international agencies, national governments, and voluntary or non‐governmental organizations—has developed a response strategy that permits some refugees to remain in their countries of first asylum, enables some to resettle in third countries and arranges for still others to be repatriated to their countries of origin.Less
Beginning with the establishment by the League of Nations of the first High Commissioner for Refugees in 1921, the scope and functions of assistance programmes for refugees gradually expanded, as efforts were made to regularize the status and control of stateless and denationalized people. During and after World War II, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Agency (UNRRA) and the International Refugee Organization (IRO) further expanded the international organizational framework for refugees. Since 1951, an international refugee regime—composed of UNHCR and a network of other international agencies, national governments, and voluntary or non‐governmental organizations—has developed a response strategy that permits some refugees to remain in their countries of first asylum, enables some to resettle in third countries and arranges for still others to be repatriated to their countries of origin.
Matthew Hilton and James McKay (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197264829
- eISBN:
- 9780191754036
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264829.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This book provides the historical background to the rise of the Big Society, surveying the history of voluntarism over the last century. Politicians and commentators have long bemoaned the supposed ...
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This book provides the historical background to the rise of the Big Society, surveying the history of voluntarism over the last century. Politicians and commentators have long bemoaned the supposed decline of civic life, fretting about its health and its future. In fact, the real story of voluntarism over the last hundred years has not been decline, but constant evolution and change. Whether we use the terms charity, philanthropy, civil society, non-governmental organisations, the third sector or the Big Society, voluntary endeavour is one of the most vibrant and dynamic areas of British public life. The scholars featured in this collection show how the voluntary sector's role in society, and its relationship with the state, has constantly adapted to its surroundings. Volumtary groups have raised new agendas, tackled old problems in new ways, acted as alternatives to statutory provision and as catalysts for further government action. They have emerged out of citizens' concerns, independent of government, and yet have remained willing to work with politicians of all persuasions. By surveying the sheer extent and diversity of the sector since the start of the First World War, the book demonstrates that voluntarism not only continues to thrive, but is also far larger than any political agenda that may be imposed upon it.Less
This book provides the historical background to the rise of the Big Society, surveying the history of voluntarism over the last century. Politicians and commentators have long bemoaned the supposed decline of civic life, fretting about its health and its future. In fact, the real story of voluntarism over the last hundred years has not been decline, but constant evolution and change. Whether we use the terms charity, philanthropy, civil society, non-governmental organisations, the third sector or the Big Society, voluntary endeavour is one of the most vibrant and dynamic areas of British public life. The scholars featured in this collection show how the voluntary sector's role in society, and its relationship with the state, has constantly adapted to its surroundings. Volumtary groups have raised new agendas, tackled old problems in new ways, acted as alternatives to statutory provision and as catalysts for further government action. They have emerged out of citizens' concerns, independent of government, and yet have remained willing to work with politicians of all persuasions. By surveying the sheer extent and diversity of the sector since the start of the First World War, the book demonstrates that voluntarism not only continues to thrive, but is also far larger than any political agenda that may be imposed upon it.
Monique Segarra
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198781837
- eISBN:
- 9780191598968
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198781830.003.0020
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
Over the past decade, the World Bank has pressed its borrowers to include NGOs in ‘partnerships’ that range from shared design and implementation of projects, to substantive negotiation over ...
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Over the past decade, the World Bank has pressed its borrowers to include NGOs in ‘partnerships’ that range from shared design and implementation of projects, to substantive negotiation over development policy. What explains the domestic political outcome of these transnational partnership efforts? This chapter examines the case of the negotiation over Ecuador's Social Investment Fund to include substantial NGO participation and finds that these new ‘partnerships’ between NGOs and the state failed in their first iteration. Presidential concerns over patronage blocked the construction of new working relations between NGOs and the state. Yet, the initial failure was followed by reflection and renewed collaboration. Political change resulted from a process of socialization around new sets of norms regarding civil society's participation in social policy as they became embedded in new, often informal, institutions. The impact of this socialization on democracy in Ecuador is still an open question.Less
Over the past decade, the World Bank has pressed its borrowers to include NGOs in ‘partnerships’ that range from shared design and implementation of projects, to substantive negotiation over development policy. What explains the domestic political outcome of these transnational partnership efforts? This chapter examines the case of the negotiation over Ecuador's Social Investment Fund to include substantial NGO participation and finds that these new ‘partnerships’ between NGOs and the state failed in their first iteration. Presidential concerns over patronage blocked the construction of new working relations between NGOs and the state. Yet, the initial failure was followed by reflection and renewed collaboration. Political change resulted from a process of socialization around new sets of norms regarding civil society's participation in social policy as they became embedded in new, often informal, institutions. The impact of this socialization on democracy in Ecuador is still an open question.
Matthew Hilton and James Mckay
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197264829
- eISBN:
- 9780191754036
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264829.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This introductory chapter provides the historical background to the rise of the Big Society, surveying the history of voluntarism over the last century. Politicians and commentators have long ...
More
This introductory chapter provides the historical background to the rise of the Big Society, surveying the history of voluntarism over the last century. Politicians and commentators have long bemoaned the supposed decline of civic life, fretting about its health and its future. In fact, the real story of voluntarism over the last hundred years has not been decline, but constant evolution and change. Whether the terms charity, philanthropy, civil society, non-governmental organisations, the third sector or the Big Society are used, voluntary endeavour is one of the most vibrant and dynamic areas of British public life. Voluntarism not only continues to thrive, but is also far larger than any political agenda that may be imposed upon it.Less
This introductory chapter provides the historical background to the rise of the Big Society, surveying the history of voluntarism over the last century. Politicians and commentators have long bemoaned the supposed decline of civic life, fretting about its health and its future. In fact, the real story of voluntarism over the last hundred years has not been decline, but constant evolution and change. Whether the terms charity, philanthropy, civil society, non-governmental organisations, the third sector or the Big Society are used, voluntary endeavour is one of the most vibrant and dynamic areas of British public life. Voluntarism not only continues to thrive, but is also far larger than any political agenda that may be imposed upon it.
Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198781837
- eISBN:
- 9780191598968
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198781830.003.0011
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
Highlights a fundamental contradiction in Brazil's democracy: the coexistence of political rights with pervasive human rights abuse. Political violence, condoned by the state, inhibits the extension ...
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Highlights a fundamental contradiction in Brazil's democracy: the coexistence of political rights with pervasive human rights abuse. Political violence, condoned by the state, inhibits the extension of citizenship rights. Brazilian Human Rights NGOs have made significant gains in combating societal and state violence. However, NGOs and other civil society actors are limited in their ability to curb the use of extra‐legal force by the extensive corruption within the state's judicial and security systems and by the lack of accountability in its political society. The ability to extend and to consolidate democracy in Brazil is blocked by the persistence of authoritarian practice within society and state.Less
Highlights a fundamental contradiction in Brazil's democracy: the coexistence of political rights with pervasive human rights abuse. Political violence, condoned by the state, inhibits the extension of citizenship rights. Brazilian Human Rights NGOs have made significant gains in combating societal and state violence. However, NGOs and other civil society actors are limited in their ability to curb the use of extra‐legal force by the extensive corruption within the state's judicial and security systems and by the lack of accountability in its political society. The ability to extend and to consolidate democracy in Brazil is blocked by the persistence of authoritarian practice within society and state.
Gudmundur Alfredsson
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199570546
- eISBN:
- 9780191705496
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199570546.003.0007
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration
This chapter outlines and analyses the main human rights and minority rights instruments that have been adopted by a range of international and regional organizations; presents an overview of ...
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This chapter outlines and analyses the main human rights and minority rights instruments that have been adopted by a range of international and regional organizations; presents an overview of monitoring procedures and institutions concerned with minority rights; and identifies some never-ending problems such as the definition of the term ‘minority’ and the question of individual and group rights. It argues that current international activities relating to minority rights are characterized by scattered standards and weak institutions, and demonstrates the reluctance of governments in this field. The only notable international institutional trends concern the case-law of two treaty bodies and the dialogue functions of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities.Less
This chapter outlines and analyses the main human rights and minority rights instruments that have been adopted by a range of international and regional organizations; presents an overview of monitoring procedures and institutions concerned with minority rights; and identifies some never-ending problems such as the definition of the term ‘minority’ and the question of individual and group rights. It argues that current international activities relating to minority rights are characterized by scattered standards and weak institutions, and demonstrates the reluctance of governments in this field. The only notable international institutional trends concern the case-law of two treaty bodies and the dialogue functions of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities.
Menno T. Kamminga
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199245383
- eISBN:
- 9780191697456
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199245383.003.0017
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
In the recent past, concerns have been voiced with regard to the influence of non-state actors, in particular non-governmental organizations (NGOs), on the international decision-making process. Some ...
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In the recent past, concerns have been voiced with regard to the influence of non-state actors, in particular non-governmental organizations (NGOs), on the international decision-making process. Some even feared that it may threaten the interstate system. This chapter takes up this concern and investigates whether such fear is justified. It considers the capacity of NGOs to conclude treaties, participate in treaty making, bring international claims, and incur liability under international law, and concludes that such fear is unfounded.Less
In the recent past, concerns have been voiced with regard to the influence of non-state actors, in particular non-governmental organizations (NGOs), on the international decision-making process. Some even feared that it may threaten the interstate system. This chapter takes up this concern and investigates whether such fear is justified. It considers the capacity of NGOs to conclude treaties, participate in treaty making, bring international claims, and incur liability under international law, and concludes that such fear is unfounded.
Ebony Bertorelli and Aneel Brar
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199755011
- eISBN:
- 9780199918867
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199755011.003.0008
- Subject:
- Psychology, Developmental Psychology
International efforts to increase equity, quality and access in primary education increasingly include calls to expand governance and educational resources by fostering partnerships between ...
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International efforts to increase equity, quality and access in primary education increasingly include calls to expand governance and educational resources by fostering partnerships between governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This chapter examines a partnership between India’s largest educational NGO, Pratham, and the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh in Northern India. Pratham has created and implemented state-specific quality improvement programs in an effort to raise the learning achievements of marginalized students in government schools. Although the programs significantly raised achievement among children at the lowest levels of learning, the chapter argues that the most lasting success of these initiatives is in affecting education policy through advocacy, changing state behavior and raising the consciousness of people and governments regarding vital education issues.Less
International efforts to increase equity, quality and access in primary education increasingly include calls to expand governance and educational resources by fostering partnerships between governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This chapter examines a partnership between India’s largest educational NGO, Pratham, and the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh in Northern India. Pratham has created and implemented state-specific quality improvement programs in an effort to raise the learning achievements of marginalized students in government schools. Although the programs significantly raised achievement among children at the lowest levels of learning, the chapter argues that the most lasting success of these initiatives is in affecting education policy through advocacy, changing state behavior and raising the consciousness of people and governments regarding vital education issues.
Denise Tse-Shang Tang
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9789888083015
- eISBN:
- 9789882209855
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888083015.003.0005
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
The term tongzhi is contested for its earlier primary definition to mean gay and middle class. It is used within LGBT activist communities and non-governmental organizations to denote politics that ...
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The term tongzhi is contested for its earlier primary definition to mean gay and middle class. It is used within LGBT activist communities and non-governmental organizations to denote politics that aim for equality and human rights. This chapter examines the role of prominent women activists in Hong Kong's tongzhi movement as a means of understanding how the overall political and sociocultural environment in Hong Kong affects one's perspectives on social justice, civic engagement, and sexual identities. The informants with activist backgrounds chose to use either their real names or pseudonyms used in the media. The chapter begins with a bold assumption that Hong Kong's tongzhi movement is a conflicted political site where recent gains have been made in regards to public visibility and issue-based demands due to heightened awareness on human rights, global inequalities, social justice, and corporate greed.Less
The term tongzhi is contested for its earlier primary definition to mean gay and middle class. It is used within LGBT activist communities and non-governmental organizations to denote politics that aim for equality and human rights. This chapter examines the role of prominent women activists in Hong Kong's tongzhi movement as a means of understanding how the overall political and sociocultural environment in Hong Kong affects one's perspectives on social justice, civic engagement, and sexual identities. The informants with activist backgrounds chose to use either their real names or pseudonyms used in the media. The chapter begins with a bold assumption that Hong Kong's tongzhi movement is a conflicted political site where recent gains have been made in regards to public visibility and issue-based demands due to heightened awareness on human rights, global inequalities, social justice, and corporate greed.
Paul Mosley
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199692125
- eISBN:
- 9780191739286
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199692125.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental, Macro- and Monetary Economics
When development studies were born, after decolonization in the middle of the twentieth century, poverty was not an important concern of policy-makers. This chapter asks how this situation changed in ...
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When development studies were born, after decolonization in the middle of the twentieth century, poverty was not an important concern of policy-makers. This chapter asks how this situation changed in the early 1970s, to launch the main question of how the interests of the poor became incorporated in policy-making. New data became available, showing that famine was still occurring and that a third of the poor were not gaining from growth; inclusive policies were presented as a means of allaying threats to state security within a cold war environment, especially in Asian developing countries; and a big boost was given to these policies by the commitment of donors – especially Robert MacNamara, the new World Bank president – to reorientate lending policies towards urban poverty and rural development. Under the stress of global crisis, poverty focus among aid donors decayed in the 1980s, but it continued among many recipients, especially in South and South-East Asia. In the 1990s, it was relaunched, first tentatively, as a means of protecting the losers from global adjustment (a process which, with the end of the cold war, now embraced Russia and the former Soviet Union) and then more decisively, a process which culminated in the Millennium Development Goals. In the 2000s, with the decay of the Washington consensus, the idea of pro-poor orientation becomes incorporated into a more state-dominated politics in a number of middle-income, especially Latin American, countries.Less
When development studies were born, after decolonization in the middle of the twentieth century, poverty was not an important concern of policy-makers. This chapter asks how this situation changed in the early 1970s, to launch the main question of how the interests of the poor became incorporated in policy-making. New data became available, showing that famine was still occurring and that a third of the poor were not gaining from growth; inclusive policies were presented as a means of allaying threats to state security within a cold war environment, especially in Asian developing countries; and a big boost was given to these policies by the commitment of donors – especially Robert MacNamara, the new World Bank president – to reorientate lending policies towards urban poverty and rural development. Under the stress of global crisis, poverty focus among aid donors decayed in the 1980s, but it continued among many recipients, especially in South and South-East Asia. In the 1990s, it was relaunched, first tentatively, as a means of protecting the losers from global adjustment (a process which, with the end of the cold war, now embraced Russia and the former Soviet Union) and then more decisively, a process which culminated in the Millennium Development Goals. In the 2000s, with the decay of the Washington consensus, the idea of pro-poor orientation becomes incorporated into a more state-dominated politics in a number of middle-income, especially Latin American, countries.
Alison M. Jaggar
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195175349
- eISBN:
- 9780199835775
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195175344.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy
Traditional conceptions of citizenship have privileged individuals’ relationships to the state. However, recent emphasis on civil society as a terrain of democratic empowerment suggests a shift in ...
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Traditional conceptions of citizenship have privileged individuals’ relationships to the state. However, recent emphasis on civil society as a terrain of democratic empowerment suggests a shift in our ideas about what citizens properly do and the arenas in which they do it. Jaggar argues that it would be a mistake to privilege activism in civil society over traditional state-centered political activity and she contends that democratic citizenship may—and must—be performed in multiple arenas. For example, some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have come to depend on governmental support. And governments in affluent nations may be better providers than civil organizations of the critical social services, such as nutrition, healthcare, and education, on which many women and children depend. Feminists need enriched understandings of citizenship that recognize the indispensability of both national and transnational civil society but still maintain a strong focus on the state.Less
Traditional conceptions of citizenship have privileged individuals’ relationships to the state. However, recent emphasis on civil society as a terrain of democratic empowerment suggests a shift in our ideas about what citizens properly do and the arenas in which they do it. Jaggar argues that it would be a mistake to privilege activism in civil society over traditional state-centered political activity and she contends that democratic citizenship may—and must—be performed in multiple arenas. For example, some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have come to depend on governmental support. And governments in affluent nations may be better providers than civil organizations of the critical social services, such as nutrition, healthcare, and education, on which many women and children depend. Feminists need enriched understandings of citizenship that recognize the indispensability of both national and transnational civil society but still maintain a strong focus on the state.
David Griffiths
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861346346
- eISBN:
- 9781447303152
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861346346.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Migration Studies (including Refugee Studies)
This book is distinctive in combining theoretical discussion on the role of networks, resources, and social capital with fieldwork evidence and interviews with members of Refugee Community ...
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This book is distinctive in combining theoretical discussion on the role of networks, resources, and social capital with fieldwork evidence and interviews with members of Refugee Community Organisations (RCOs), non-governmental organisations, and statutory authorities. It critically examines the impact of dispersal and current legislative change on refugee communities and RCOs, explores the integrative role of RCOs, assesses the race-relations framework in Britain and its effects on refugee organisations, and provides a thorough and up-to-date literature review.Less
This book is distinctive in combining theoretical discussion on the role of networks, resources, and social capital with fieldwork evidence and interviews with members of Refugee Community Organisations (RCOs), non-governmental organisations, and statutory authorities. It critically examines the impact of dispersal and current legislative change on refugee communities and RCOs, explores the integrative role of RCOs, assesses the race-relations framework in Britain and its effects on refugee organisations, and provides a thorough and up-to-date literature review.
André Béteille
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198080961
- eISBN:
- 9780199082049
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198080961.003.0005
- Subject:
- Sociology, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change
This chapter examines the importance of rights in social life and the social significance of trust. It argues that rights and trust are both indispensable constituents of collective life, and that no ...
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This chapter examines the importance of rights in social life and the social significance of trust. It argues that rights and trust are both indispensable constituents of collective life, and that no society can function without an acknowledged distribution of rights among its constituent members. It discusses rights and trust in the context of the family and universities in India. It contends that both rights and trust must be viewed not in isolation but in their dialectical relationship with one another in order to get a better sense of each. The chapter focuses on institutions which are social arrangements of a particular kind. It also describes rights and citizenship, the emergence of ‘rights activists’, who typically operate through non-governmental organizations, and the distinction between civil rights and the rights claimed by or on behalf of particular sections of the population such as women, the minorities, and the backward castes.Less
This chapter examines the importance of rights in social life and the social significance of trust. It argues that rights and trust are both indispensable constituents of collective life, and that no society can function without an acknowledged distribution of rights among its constituent members. It discusses rights and trust in the context of the family and universities in India. It contends that both rights and trust must be viewed not in isolation but in their dialectical relationship with one another in order to get a better sense of each. The chapter focuses on institutions which are social arrangements of a particular kind. It also describes rights and citizenship, the emergence of ‘rights activists’, who typically operate through non-governmental organizations, and the distinction between civil rights and the rights claimed by or on behalf of particular sections of the population such as women, the minorities, and the backward castes.
Bernard M. Hoekman and Michel M. Kostecki
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294313
- eISBN:
- 9780191596445
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019829431X.003.0015
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, International
This chapter discusses the role of industry groups and NGOs in the formulation of trade policies at the national and global level, and the importance of transparency and openness in policy formation ...
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This chapter discusses the role of industry groups and NGOs in the formulation of trade policies at the national and global level, and the importance of transparency and openness in policy formation in ensuring that governments are accountable. Information is a necessary condition for the ‘contestability’ of policy in national political markets, which in turn is a necessary condition for the ‘coherence’ of such policies, as well as the legitimacy of whatever multilateral rules are negotiated. The sections of the chapter are as follows: Industry and trade policy formation; NGOs and civil society; Governance of the WTO (World Trade Organization); Coherence of national policies; and Conclusion.Less
This chapter discusses the role of industry groups and NGOs in the formulation of trade policies at the national and global level, and the importance of transparency and openness in policy formation in ensuring that governments are accountable. Information is a necessary condition for the ‘contestability’ of policy in national political markets, which in turn is a necessary condition for the ‘coherence’ of such policies, as well as the legitimacy of whatever multilateral rules are negotiated. The sections of the chapter are as follows: Industry and trade policy formation; NGOs and civil society; Governance of the WTO (World Trade Organization); Coherence of national policies; and Conclusion.
