1. Week One - Introduction
LG354 
Global Civil Society
Week One - Introduction

2. Civil Society To understand GCS, we first need to understand CS...
To understand GCS, we first need to understand CS...  
Idea dates back to the 18th century but only in the national context
Revival of the term since the end of the Cold War
But now 'global' or 'transnational' civil society as well as domestic civil society

3. What is Civil Society?
an 'essentially contested concept' with numerous meanings...
a 'third sector' distinct from state & market
the collective (voluntary) activity of private actors with public purpose
an associative sphere between family, market & state 
the sphere of culture, ideas & values

4. What is civil society?
a deliberative political space characterised by reasoned and/or principled argument 
the zone where authority is legitimised through generating consent        
an essential component of democracy & social order 

5. What is civil society?
a zone of contestation & competing (class) interests where material conflicts find cultural & ideological expression 
a zone where authority is contested & revolutions fomented! 

6. What is civil society? an interdisciplinary concept relevant to:
politics & IR
cultural studies
sociology
philosophy

7. What is civil society?
what unites all of the different understandings of CS is a concern with how CS relates to states, markets & the world system
but the answers vary according to underlying assumptions about the nature of states, market & world system...
Liberals
pluralist view
CS can be autonomous
Marxists
class view
logic & class structure of capitalism pervade CS so autonomy difficult, but possible

8. LSE definition
"the arena of uncoerced collective action around shared interests, purposes and values. In theory, its institutional forms are distinct from those of the state, family and market, though in practice, the boundaries between state, civil society, family and market are often complex, blurred and negotiated. Civil society commonly embraces a diversity of spaces, actors and institutional forms, varying in their degree of formality, autonomy and power. Civil societies are often populated by organisations such as registered charities, development non-governmental organisations, community groups, women's organisations, faith-based organisations, professional associations, trades unions, self-help groups, social movements, business associations, coalitions and advocacy groups"

9. What is Civil Society? It is both: Normative Analytical
It is both:
Normative
CS as it should be
What actors should be included in CS? 
What should the goals of CS be? 
What could the impact of CS be? 
Analytical
CS as it actually is
Who are the actors that make up CS?
What are the aims of actual CS actors?
What is the impact of CS on politics?
Civil society is an explicitly politicised concept so the line between analysis & normative theorising is blurred...

10. What is Civil Society?
normative content means that civil society actors sometimes conceived as:
motivated by principles & values rather than self-interest 
e.g. religion, human rights, democracy, environmental protection
associated with post-materialism 

11. Who is Civil Society?
Who counts as 'civil society actors' also varies:
NGOs, social movements, trade unions, religious groups
identity-based groups
social classes?
business/corporations?
foundations?
political parties? 
violent non-state actors?
'progressive' vs. 'regressive'
Even where inclusive approaches are adopted in theory, in practice theorists emphasise particular actors & de-emphasise others

12. Global Civil Society
'A "global associational revolution" is under way around the world, a massive upsurge of organized private, voluntary activity in virtually every corner of the globe" (Salamon et al., 20004: 3)

13. Explanations for emergence of GCS
the role of CS in the revolutions in Eastern Europe & democratisation in Latin America
the end of the Cold War & the integration of the former Eastern bloc into a single capitalist world system 
growing concern about the global environment

14. Explanations for emergence of GCS
globalisation of communications, media & travel 
      a global culture for the first time in human history?
elements of global culture
global media - TV, film, internet
international sporting tournaments
other global events
global music? 
global brands & trends
universal human rights?
democratisation

15. Empirical evidence of GCS
5 times more NGOs in 1993 than in 1953 
60%+ of all 'social change NGOs' formed after 1970
a $1.3trn industry or the world's 7th largest economy
est. to account for 4-5% of the eonomically-active pop
NGOs globalising and getting bigger
WWF: 3300 staff & $350m budget
Amnesty: 1m members in 162 states 

17. Doubts?
 but current transnational networks shallower with less active members than in past?
'pocketbook membership' & virtual networks
vs.
 First International ( ) had 5-8m members

18. Empirical evidence: is GCS really autonomous?
Irish NGOs
Goal 63% dependent on government funding
Concern 39%
estimated that Southern civil society organisation (CSO) dependency on Northern funding in some fields = 80-90%
donor-created CS in developing countries?

20. Empirical evidence: is 'GCS' really global?
1993: 72% of all social change transnational NGO HQs were located in Western  Europe, Canada or the US
8-10 Northern-based Super-NGOs have controlled 80% of complex emergency funding in recent years
vastly unequal access to 'global culture' due to inequality in telecommunications & media coverage
'global culture' not so global? another word for Westernisation?

21. NGO representation at the UN (2007)

22. Global Civil Society
translating civil society to global politics creates a whole new set of questions...
can GCS really be global in a vastly unequal world?
can it exist without a global state/world government?
is it emerging along with a nascent system of global governance?
is it something really new or a continuation of long term historical trends?

23. Why study civil society?
allows study of actors not normally considered relevant to international relations
allows attention to explicitly normative concerns often ignored in IR & politics 
a way of thinking about the reform/revolution dilemma
potentially an arena 
in which new ideas and norms can emerge
in which change can be organised