Chinese civil society groups have achieved iconic policy advocacy successes in the areas of environmental protection, women’s rights, poverty alleviation, and public health. This book examines why ...some groups are successful in policy advocacy within the authoritarian context, while others fail. A mechanism of cultural resonance is introduced as an innovative theoretical framework to systematically compare interactions between Chinese civil society and the government in different movements. It is argued that civil society advocacy results depend largely on whether advocators can achieve cultural resonance with policymakers and the mainstream public through their social performances. The effective performance is the one in which advocators employ symbols embraced by the audience (policymakers and the public) in their actions and framings. While many studies have tried to explain the phenomena of successful policy advocacy in China through institutional or organizational factors, this book not only contains extensive empirical data based on field research, but takes a cultural sociological turn to identify the meaning-making process behind advocacy actions. Civil Society in China will appeal to students and scholars of sociology, political science, social work, and Chinese and Asian studies more broadly. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license
Studies done before tend to amplify the role of institutions in improving the welfare of individuals and families. Few studies interrogate the role of beneficiaries in micro-social work ...interventions. Using NGOs’ interventions as a case study, beneficiaries are going the extra mile to reap maximum benefits, and some of their actions are organic, spontaneous and context-specific and are not influenced by NGOs themselves. The findings deepen community practice by appreciating that NGOs’ beneficiaries can organise for social action in pursuit of household welfare. There are better outcomes when micro-social work builds on the potential of clients.
Urban forestry NGOs commenced gaining prominence in the socio-political landscape of the 20th century. Despite a dramatic increase in the number of urban forestry NGOs (50%) in recent decades, they ...are rarely described in the scientific literature, and they have not been investigated in any formal, systematic manner. Little is known about the origins of many of these organisations or how many formal urban forestry NGOs are presently active across the United States. Knowledge gaps persist pertaining to organisational structure, programming, and funding. To address these gaps in knowledge, this article presents findings from a survey of 81 urban forestry NGOs in the temperate forest region of the United States. We report on typical traits of urban forestry NGOs across five themes that include "origin", "organisational structure", "funding", "partnerships", and "programming". Nearly 80% of respondents indicated that their urban forestry NGO has helped develop, shape, or implement policy in their community (e.g. tree policies & ordinances, urban forest master plans). An overwhelming majority of NGOs (90% and 83%, respectively) indicated that both private citizens and local departments were important collaborators. A vast majority of respondents (86%) indicated that their NGO routinely engages in planting trees and over 70% of urban forestry NGOs routinely participate in public events including Arbor Day celebrations and local tree giveaways. There is widespread variation regarding the size, composition, and even function of urban forestry NGOs.
Local actors are promoted as important agents in the humanitarian sector's latest reform efforts. Opinions on the exact meaning and the best means of implementing localisation differ, however. ...Applying an interface perspective, this paper analyses how the Rohingya response in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, became an arena of contestation, competition, and sometimes convergence among different actors in relation to localisation. It shows how misconceptions and divergent understandings of localisation and the best methods of achieving it were prevalent and hampered the joint endeavours of international and local humanitarian bodies. Although both sides sought common ground, conflicting views, interests, and perceptions of ‘self’ and ‘other’ stood in the way. A lack of trust between international and local organisations intensified divisions. The paper argues, therefore, that the humanitarian sector needs to engage in trust‐building between the various entities involved in humanitarian response if localisation is to be realised, including addressing underlying structural and systemic issues of (neo)colonialism, racism, and classism.
نبذة مختصرة
وبمقتضي تسمية توطين الجهات الفاعلة المحلية، يتم الترويج لها كعناصر مهمة في الاستجابات الإنسانية في جهود الاصلاحات الأخيرة التي يبذلها القطاع الإنساني. الآراء حول المعنى الدقيق وأفضل الممارسات لتنفيذ التعريب اختلفت على أية حال. يُحلل هذا البحث بتطبيق منظور الحد المشترك كيف أصبحت استجابة الروهينغا في كوكس بازار ساحة للتنافس والمنافسة والتقارب في بعض الأحيان بين مختلف الجهات الفاعلة حول التعريب. ويوضح البحث كيف كانت المفاهيم الخاطئة والفهم المتباين للتعريب، كذلك أفضل السُبل السائدة لتنفيذه والتي أعاقت الجهود المشتركة للجهات الفاعلة الإنسانية الدولية والمحلية. وعلى الرغم من أن كلا الجانبين سعى إلى أساس مشترك والتفاعل في حوار، فأن الآراء والمصالح والتصورات المتضاربة عن الذات وغيرها تقف في طريق ظهور رؤية مشتركة. وقد زاد الافتقار إلى الثقة بين الجهات الفاعلة الدولية والمحلية من حدة الانقسامات. لذلك، يتناقش هذا البحث في أن القطاع الإنساني بحاجة إلى المشاركة في جهود بناء الثقة بين مختلف الجهات الفاعلة المشاركة في الاستجابة الإنسانية إذا كان للتعريب أن يتحقق بما في ذلك القضايا الهيكلية والنظامية الأساسية للاستعمار (الجديد) والنعصرية والطبقية.
الكلمات الدليلية بنغلاديش، العمل الإنساني، التعريب، المنظمات غير الحكومية المحلية، استجابة الروهينغا، الثقة
摘要
在人道主义部门最新改革中,贴着本地化标签的地方行动者被提升为人道主义援助的重要推动者。然而,对于本地化的含义和最佳实施方法,人们的意见存在分歧。本文从接口的角度,分析了为何科克斯巴扎尔的罗兴亚人的人道主义援助,会让人们对本地化问题众说纷纭。本文展示了为何人们对本地化及其最佳实施方式有不同认识和误解,甚至阻碍了国际和当地人道主义行动者的共同努力。尽管国际和地方行动者双方寻求共同点并进行对话,但相互冲突的观点、利益和看法使得双方无法达成共识。二者之间缺乏信任,进一步加剧了分歧。因此,本文认为,如果要实现本地化,人道主义部门需要在人道主义援助者之间建立信任,包括解决(新)殖民主义、种族主义和阶级主义等潜在的结构性、系统性问题。
关键词:孟加拉国、人道主义行动、本地化、当地非政府组织、罗兴亚人道援助、信任
Contributions on localisation often focus on interactions between local organisations and the international community, with limited attention paid to dynamics within the locally‐led part of the ...response. The humanitarian operation in non‐government‐held areas of Syria is considered a key example of localisation, in which the health sector has assumed a leading role. Drawing on fieldwork among Syrian medical‐humanitarian organisations conducted in southern Turkey in 2017, this paper offers a view from below on the localisation debate. It provides a nuanced perspective on ‘the local’, showcasing how localisation is interpreted and expressed among Syrian non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) themselves, and in their interaction with each other. The paper shows how most organisations have moved to a hybrid model that emphasises their local and international character, resisting simplistic classifications. However, despite the sometimes strategic nature of its invocation, localisation does not lose its relevance as a lived experience, especially for local field staff.
نبذة مختصرة
غالبًا ما تركز المساهمات الخاصة بالتوطين على التفاعلات بين المنظمات المحلية والمجتمع الدولي. مع اهتمام محدود بالديناميكيات داخل الجزء الذي يتم قيادته محليًا للاستجابة نفسها. تعتبر الاستجابة الإنسانية في المناطق غير الخاضعة لسيطرة الحكومة في سوريا مثالًا رئيسيًا على التوطين، حيث لعب القطاع الصحي دورًا رائدًا. بالاعتماد على العمل الميداني بين المنظمات الطبية الإنسانية السورية الذي تم إجراؤه في جنوب تركيا, يقدم هذا المقال وجهة نظر محايدة حول الجدل المتعلق بالتوطين. ويوفر منظورًا دقيقًا حول "المحلي"، ويعرض كيفية تفسير التوطين والتعبير عنه بين المنظمات غير الحكومية السورية نفسها، وخلال تفاعلها مع بعضها البعض. ويوضح كيف انتقلت معظم المنظمات إلى نموذج هجين يؤكد على طابعها المحلي والدولي ويقاوم التصنيفات المبسطة. ومع ذلك، على الرغم من الطبيعة الاستراتيجية أحيانًا لاستحضارها، إلا أن ألأقلمه لا تفقد أهميتها كتجربة حياتية، خاصة للموظفين الميدانيين المحليين.
الكلمات المفتاحية : توطين، محلي، إنساني، سوريا، منظمات غير حكومية، صحة
摘要
关于本地化的贡献往往集中在当地组织与国际社会之间的互动,而对当地主导的响应部门内部的动态关注有限。在叙利亚非政府控制区的人道主义响应被认为是本地化的一个重要例子,其中卫生部门发挥了主导作用。本文借鉴在土耳其南部进行的叙利亚医疗人道主义组织的实地调查,在下文中对本地化争论提出了看法。本文提供了一个关于“本地”的细致入微的视角,展示了叙利亚非政府组织本身以及它们之间的互动是如何解释和表达本地化的。本文展示了大多数组织如何转向一种混合模式,强调它们的本地和国际特性,抵制简单化的分类。然而,尽管启用本地化有时具有战略性质,但它并没有失去其作为一种生活经验的意义,尤其是对当地现场工作人员而言。
关键词:本地化,当地,人道主义,叙利亚,非政府组织,健康
Responding to calls to incorporate biodiversity matters into accounting research, we attempt to provide a balance by moving away from the conventional focus on the reporting of biodiversity impacts ...and activities by public and private sector organisations, by focusing on how non‐governmental organisations active in the conservation space (CNGOs), interact with the public sector. In particular, we confine our study to explaining how South African state‐owned enterprises (SOEs) and CNGOs active in South Africa, report on their collaboration engagements. To explain the engagements between SOEs and CNGOs, we use their publicly available reports (annual/integrated) to explore the extent which these entities interact and collaborate. However, although several CNGOs operate in South Africa, we documented little evidence of formalised engagements between these SOEs and CNGOs, with Eskom being the notable exception. Notwithstanding the observed scant formalised reporting on engagements, we suggest that the reporting of CNGOs engagements could be harnessed to indirectly serve as alternative credibility enhancing mechanisms. In this way, it could contribute by attesting to the veracity of organisational biodiversity disclosures, and may provide a basis to hold these organisations to account for their contribution to environmental conservation, or degradation. In this context, we conclude by calling for a research agenda to investigate the relationship between CNGOs and their funding organisations, irrespective of whether they operate in the public or private sectors, as well as the potential of CNGOs to serve as advocacy and activism agents, thereby improving organisational biodiversity accountability.
There has been growing awareness in recent years of the wide‐ranging negative impacts that counter‐terrorism measures and sanctions impose on humanitarian action. Drawing on semi‐structured ...interviews with the staff of international non‐governmental organisations (INGOs), this paper examines these impacts on INGOs based in the United Kingdom. This is a context where a particularly complex array of laws, policies, and regulatory regimes have emerged alongside an increasingly hostile political and media setting for INGOs, creating an environment characterised by uncertainty. The paper shows that counter‐terrorism measures and sanctions are leading INGOs to adopt more conservative approaches to partnership in areas controlled by proscribed groups, undermining broader commitments to the localisation agenda. The analysis reveals that perceptions of risk within INGOs vary considerably, but that despite this, INGOs have developed strategies to reduce the impacts of counter‐terrorism measures, which over time, have led to improved coordination, and in some instances, a willingness to push back against regulations.
نبذة مختصرة
كان هناك وعي متزايد بشأن الآثار السلبية الواسعة النطاق التي تفرضها تدابير وعقوبات مكافحة الإرهاب على العمل الإنساني. واستناداً إلى مقابلات شبه منظمة مع موظفي المنظمات غير الحكومية الدولية، تبحث هذه المقالة في تلك التأثيرات للمنظمات غير الحكومية الدولية الموجودة في المملكة المتحدة وهو سياق ظهرت فيه مجموعة من القوانين والسياسات والأنظمة التنظيمية المعقدة بشكل خاص جنباً إلى جنب مع بيئة سياسية وإعلامية معادية للمنظمات الدولية غير الحكومية بشكل متزايد، مما أدى إلى خلق بيئة تتصف بالشك. ونحن نبيّن أن تدابير وعقوبات مكافحة الإرهاب تدفع بالمنظمات الدولية غير الحكومية إلى اعتماد نهج أكثر تحفّظاً فيما يتعلق بالشراكة في المناطق التي تسيطر عليها الجماعات المحظورة، الأمر الذي يؤدي إلى خرق جدول أعمال عملية إعادة التوطين واسعة النطاق. يُظهر تحليلنا أن تصورات المخاطر داخل المنظمات الدولية غير الحكومية تختلف بشكل كبير ولكن على الرغم من ذلك، فقد قامت هذه المنظمات بوضع استراتيجيات تهدف إلى الحد من تأثر تدابير مكافحة الإرهاب، والتي أدت مع مرور الوقت إلى تحسين التنسيق، وفي بعض الحالات، إلى ظهور الاستعداد لمقاومة الإجراءات التنظيمية.
الكلمات المفتاحية: المنظمات غير الحكومية، الإنسانية، إدارة الخطر، عقوبات مكافحة الإرهاب.
摘要
人们开始越来越意识到以暴制暴反恐怖主义措施和制裁对人道主义行动有极大的负面影响。本文基于对国际非政府机构成员的半结构性采访,研究了上述行为对本部位于英国的非政府组织机构产生的负面影响。目前,英国制定了一系列复杂的法律、政策和规范性制度,而与此同时,英国的政治及媒体环境对非政府间国际组织的恶意也与日俱增,形成了一个充满不确定性的社会环境。文中表明了,以暴制暴反恐怖主义措施和制裁导致非政府间国际组织在受非法组织控制区域更多地采取保守的合作方式,从而阻碍各组织在当地议程中承担更多责任。我们的分析显示,各非政府间国际组织在风险认知方面差异巨大,但即便如此所有组织都已建立起了一套降低以暴制暴反恐怖主义措施带来的影响的策略,在这些策略的影响下,随着时间推移,组织间协调度能够有所提升,并且有些策略也体现出了对取消一些法规的愿望。
关键词: 非政府组织、人道主义、风险控制、以暴制暴反恐怖主义、制裁。
In 1992, one unambiguous result of the UNCED conference was the need for changing consumption and production patterns, with affluent countries taking the lead. 20 years later, at the 2012 UNCSD, ...little is left over and instead the “green economy” has been the theme pursued by the OECD, the EU and other countries. So the question needs to be answered if this is finally an attempt to put into practice what was promised 20 years ago, or another diversion from what needs to be accomplished.
Sustainable development is still a convincing concept, if the original definition is taken, avoiding the confusion caused by partisan interests reinterpreting the concept. Focussing on human needs fulfilment and respecting environmental limits, it can still guide strong sustainable consumption. Green economy/green growth, on the other hand, is a new terminology for what is known since 40 years as ecological modernisation. It is indeed overdue, but with its focus on efficiency and innovation it cannot guarantee to fulfil the Brundtland sustainability criteria. A factor analysis based on the I = P*A*T formula demonstrates how optimistic the assumptions regarding future technologies must be to support the green growth concept. Consequently, the authors pledge for a pragmatic, risk avoiding approach by slimming the physical size of the economy. This requires ‘strong sustainable consumption’ (including production as resource consumption), which in turn requires a change of the societies' institutional settings (formal and informal, mechanisms and orientations).
Finally some elements of a strategy towards this end are pointed out, with special emphasis on the role of non-governmental organisations NGOs. Through networking and advocacy they can both stimulate bottom-up action and mobilise the pressure necessary for the institutional changes which are needed to mainstream strong sustainable consumption.