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Annotated BibliographyThe concept of civil society goes back many centuries in Western thinking,with its roots in the city states of Ancient Greece. Todays conceptual frameworks are, however, more immediately influenced by seventeenth-century British political theorists such as Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, nineteenth-century European writers such as Friedrich Hegel, Alexis de Tocqueville, and Karl Marx, as well as by the more recent work of political thinkers including Antonio Gramsci, Marta Harnecker, or John Friedmann. To these must be added the impact of Robert Putnam, whose work on democracy and social capital is much cited in development policy literature on civil society, and of writers on New Social Movements, such as Sonia Alvarez, Arturo Escobar, and Alain Touraine; not to mention a host of scholar-activists like the Latin American writers Marcos Arruda, Orlando Fals-Borda, and Manfred Max-Neef. By contrast, development as a body of theory and practice is a twentieth-century phenomenon; while development agencies, including NGOs, have been in existence for at most 50 years, most of them far less. Despite their relatively recent emergence, the body of literature on both subjects is already vast - and still growing.
This bibliography has been selected in order to reflect the intersections between the three axes addressed in this Reader. We have not included the works of the major civil society theorists mentioned above, since these classics are relatively easy to trace, and several of the edited volumes listed here (notably Van Rooy 1999) include informative overviews of their work and its significance. Similarly, many of the papers included in this Reader also have valuable bibliographic references for interested readers to follow up further. Since this is a rapidly growing field of enquiry, we have included information about institutions and websites which serve as useful entry points for readers who are interested in delving further.
The bibliography was compiled and annotated by Deborah Eade and Nicola Frost with Alan Whaites, who are respectively Editor, Reviews Editor, and Associate Reviews Editor of Development in Practice.
Books
Danielle Archibugi and David Held (eds.): Cosmopolitan Democracy: An Agenda for a New World Order, Cambridge: Polity Press, 1995.
The end of the Cold War has led to major transformations in international and domestic politics. Contributors present ideas of national democracy and of a potential international or cosmopolitan democracy. The latter refers to political organisation in which all citizens worldwide have a voice, input, and political representation in international affairs, in parallel with and independently of their own governments. This model places the pursuit of democratic values through popular participation in the political process at the centre, and relates this to the principles and institutions of human rights.Jonathan Barker: Street-Level Democracy - Political Setting at the Margins, Kumarian Press, 1999.
With detailed case studies from many parts of the world, Barker investigates the practical reality of public life, looking at the mechanisms through which people participate in local politics. On a broader level, he argues that a focus on the concrete political settings is a crucial step to understanding the impact of the local on global politics.Anthony Bebbington and Diana Mitlin: NGO Capacity and Effectiveness: A review of themes in NGO-related research recently funded by ESCOR, London: IIED, 1996.
Under the often vague rubric of capacity-building, Northern NGOs are found often to be imposing their own agendas and worldview (and that of their own donors) upon the Southern NGOs they support. Based on a survey of findings among British NGOs and their Southern counterparts, the authors find that local capacity may actually be undermined as the latters own values and priorities are distorted in the process of channelling Northern aid monies.Anthony Bebbington and Roger Riddell: Donors, civil society and southern NGOs: new agendas, old problems, London: IIED and ODI, 1995.
Donors direct funding of Southern NGOs rests on the wish to enhance the effectiveness of aid delivery and to contribute to a stronger civil society in the South. This paper examines the underlying assumptions being made about the NGO sector, and how bilateral aid may in reality be serving instrumentalist purposes. Alternative and less potentially distorting ways of supporting Southern NGOs might focus instead on the wider environment in which they function, both at a policy and at an institutional level. The authors argue that if used constructively, the discussion of direct funding can make more explicit long-standing problems in the partnership between Northern and Southern NGOs, and so be a step towards addressing them.Amanda Bernard, Henny Helmich and Percy B. Lehning (eds.): Civil Society and International Developmentt Paris: OECD and the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe, 1998.
In papers from a seminar on civil society and international development, contributors explore conceptual questions of civil society, the role of external actors such as donors and NGOs, with perspectives from developing regions. Civil society is often a crucial manifestation of an associative impulse and is influenced by existing regimes and political resistance in its ideological, political and social expression. A better understanding of the role, history, and traditions of civil society could provide useful practical insights into how to restore peace and resume the development process in regions plagued by violent conflicts, and also contribute to democratic processes and development elsewhere.Kees Biekart: The Politics of Civil Society Building: European Private Aid Agencies and Democratic Transitions in Central America, Utrecht: International Books in cooperation with Transnational Institute, 1999.
The first part of this book offers an analytical overview of contemporary thinking about civil society, with particular reference to political transitions from military rule to democratically elected governments in South America; and an examination of the roles played by social movements and international aid agencies in these processes. The second part traces the aid chain linking specific human rights and popular organisations and NGOs in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras and questions the various short- and long-term impacts, intended or not, of foreign assistance for civil society building.Patrick Chabal and Jean-Pascal Daloz: Africa Works, James Currey, 1999.
Based on empirical observation, this is an attempt to make sense of some of the key issues in Black Africa today. In an analysis of the functioning of African polities, it examines the growing informalisation of politics: the state in Africa is not just weak, but essentially vacuous. It demolishes the myth of a host of viable civil society organisations willing and able to challenge central state power, and examines other cultural influences, such as witchcraft, and the effect of an ongoing culture of violence.Neera Chandhoke: State and Civil Society: Explorations in Political Theory, New Delhi: Sage India, 1995.
A theoretical survey of the history of civil society in western political thought, from Hegel to Marx and Gramsci, this title includes a useful bibliography. It highlights some of the limitations of these theoretical constructions for the way we think about civil society today, for example the classification of household politics as a private rather than public concern. It also underlines the essential paradox of a free civil society constituted within the very state which it is supposed to be able to hold accountable.Seamus Cleary: The Role of NGOs under Authoritarian Political Systems, Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1997.
A searching critique, based on personal experience in Indonesia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines, of the claim of Northern NGOs to be able to represent the most vulnerable people in society, through their links with the grassroots. In Indonesia, for example, Cleary reveals how UK NGOs, establishing themselves as interpreters of others needs, actually exceeded local peoples demands, and sacrificed accountability to serve institutional ends. The book draws general conclusions about whose interests are served by this kind of representation, and makes distinctions between operational development organisations and advocacy based, often environmental NGOs. It also highlights the importance of domestic capacity for presenting advocacy cases as a crucial element in their success.Colin Crouch and David Marquand (eds.): Reinventing Collective Action: from the global to the local, Oxford: Blackwell, 1995.
This collection takes a look at aspects of a new collectivism, risen from the ruins of neo-liberal orthodoxies at the end of the twentieth century. Its internationalist vision is based on a strong civil society, and on principles of bottom-up development, with an ethos of accountability and pluralism. It revives and revises the concept of citizenship in a global society, and looks at constitutional implications, and the need to reform global financial institutions.Mark Duffield: The Symphony of the Damned, Disasters, 20(3), 1996; Complex emergencies and the crisis of developmentalism, IDS Bulletin 25(4):37-45, 1994.
These two influential papers focus on the role of NGOs and other relief agencies in contemporary, post-Cold War civil conflicts, where the state is weak or non-exsistent. In such situations, aid agencies not only risk fuelling conflict, albeit inadvertently, but also allowing Western governments effectively to disengage from any meaningful commitment to equitable global development. Complex emergencies repesent an extreme expression of a dynamic that is present in any setting in which the state is incapable of mediating between different interest groups, or of guaranteeing basic security and equal rights for all citizens.Michael Edwards: Future Positive, London: Earthscan, 1999.
Future Positive is a rethinking of the international aid system its purpose, effectiveness, and the role of the international institutions in its administration. As its title suggests, this is an optimistic vision, a radical reworking of international cooperation. Edwards posits a future of collective action based on critical friendship, in which NGOs and civil society (an active global citizenry) spearhead the drive for change. The keywords are coherence, flexibility (i.e. sensitivity to local and national situations), and a willingness to put ones own house in order before embarking on other peoples.Michael Edwards and David Hulme (eds.): NGOs, States and Donors: Too Close for Comfort?, Macmillan, 1997; NGOs - Performance and Accountability: Beyond the Magic Bullet, London: Earthscan, 1996; Making a Difference: NGOs and Development in a Changing World, London: Earthscan, 1992.
These volumes emerged from two conferences that were organised by the editors in 1992 and 1994 and thus reflect the preoccupations of Northern and large Southern NGOs in the early 1990s. Making a Difference looks at different ways to scale-up NGO impact, for instance by partnering with governments, by becoming service-providers, by expanding the scale and scope of their programmes, or by undertaking advocacy work whether to shift public policy or to influence public opinion. Too Close for Comfort? and Beyond the Magic Bullet seek both to re-define what NGOs are best at (and against whose criteria to prove this) and to explore the opportunities and risks inherent in becoming dependent on acting as channels for official aid - both volumes focusing on questions of downwards or two-way versus upwards accountability.Richard Falk: On Humane Governance, University Park PA:The Pennsylvania State UP, 199
Economic globalisation is diminishing the political role of the nation-state, though the main market- and capital-driven forces that challenge it remain largely concealed as political actors. Variants of the politics of identity are also causing fragmentation and furthering the decline in governmental capacity in many states. The author calls for a commitment to humane geo-governance: a set of social, political, economic, and cultural arrangements committed to rapid progress in the promotion of welfare, human rights, environmental protection, peace building and transnational democratisation. This will depend on dramatic growth of transnational democracy, the extension of primary democratic processes, a growing allegiance to global civil society, and on the plausibility of humane governance as a political priority.Julie Fisher: Nongovernments: NGOs and the Political Development of the Third World, West Hartford CT: Kumarian Press, 1998.
NGOs have been widely trumpeted as being central to the success of sustainable development initiatives in a range of contexts. But what exactly are these NGOs, how exactly do they interact with other stakeholders, and to what effect? This book provides a systematic overview of current NGO typologies, with a detailed description of how these organisations have cooperated with or influenced political systems around the world.Joe Foweraker: Theorizing Social Movements, London: Pluto, 1995.
Economic transformation and social upheaval intimately affect existing class, gender, and ethnic relations, creating diverse areas of challenge and change. Throughout Latin America, extensive political re-alignments and re-definitions are underway even as social movements are challenging the traditional boundaries of politics and its actors. The main debates and issues in contemporary social movement theory are discussed in this context, with empirical reference to urban social movements and womens mobilisation. While social movements theory is necessarily drawn from particular experiences, the gap between theory and collective action appears to be growing. The author questions the capacity of theoretical developments that have emerged from western Europe and North America to explain realities in Latin America, where social action is on the increase.Alan Fowler: Civil Society, NGDOs and Social Development: Changing the Rules of the Game, Geneva: UNRISD, 2000.
Underlining the fact that the Western image of civil society that is currently employed by donors does not necessarily apply to civil societies elsewhere, the author examines the practices of non-governmental development organisations (NGDOs) and their relationships with other partners, linking these with the deep-rooted pathologies of the aid system that condition the form and effectiveness of many development interventions by NGDOs and by the wider universe of civil society organisations. The aid system is, it is argued, logically incapable of generating the nature and level of reform required. However, without fundamental reform, North-South relationships will inevitably be flawed, and will often be politically distorting.Jonathan A. Fox and L. David Brown (eds.): The Struggle for Accountability: The World Bank, NGOs and Grassroots Movements, Cambridge MA: MIT Press, 1998.
This book analyses policy reforms within the World Bank to adopt more rigorous environmental and social policies, and the subsequent conflicts over how and whether to follow them in practice. It asks how the Bank has responded to the NGO/grassroots environmental critique, with case studies to assess degrees of change, how far advocacy campaigns, often led by NGOs, represent the organisations of those most directly affected by Bank projects, and how accountable NGOs are to their own partners. The Bank is shown to be more publicly accountable as the result of protest, public scrutiny, and the empowering effect on inside reformers. Transnational NGO networks have also gradually become more accountable to their local partners - partly because of more vocal and autonomous grassroots movements, and partly in response to the Banks challenge to the legitimacy of international NGO critics.Jean Grugel (ed.): Democracy without Borders: Transnationalism and Conditionality in New Democracies, London: Routledge, 1999.
Including empirical data from Africa, Europe, and Latin America, this book concentrates on the role of non-state actors in the increasing web of transnational networks which wield considerable power and influence in global politics. Particularly interesting is the study of the changing nature of civil society in East Central Europe, and the chapter on policy networks and transnational ethical networks, in relation to European NGOs involvement in democratisation in Latin America.Chris Hann and Elizabeth Dunn: Civil Society: Challenging Western Models, London: Routledge, 1996.
Civil society has been enthusiastically and uncritically endorsed as a universal ideal of social organisation, despite its European origin and the fact that it fails even to do much to explain current social realities in Europe. Civil society is often presented as a private sphere and equated with the non-governmental sector. Contributors argue for a broader understanding that encompasses a range of everyday social practices, often elusive power relations, and the many material constraints that influence shared moralities and ideologies. Case studies from the USA, the UK, four former communist countries of Eastern Europe, Turkey, the Middle East, Indonesia, and Japan demonstrate the contribution that anthropology can make to current debate.John A. Hall (ed.): Civil Society: Theory, History, Comparison, London: Pluto, 1995.
This book aims to clarify what is meant by civil society, in order to identify its usefulness as a descriptive as well as a prescriptive term. The analysis is comparative, historical, and theoretical, with a focus on the relationships between civil society and other social forces, notably to nationalism and populism. The book defines civil society as a social value and a set of social institutions, noting that not every autonomous group creates or contributes to civil society, and that the notion that groups can balance the state is wrong. With case studies from Latin America, India, Turkey, and the Islamic world, the book asks where civil society has its foundation and its legitimacy.Jeff Haynes: Democracy and Civil Society in the Third World, Cambridge: Polity Press, 1997.
Looking at Action Groups as popular political, social and economic movements in Third World societies, and focusing on poor and marginalised groups within developing countries, the author argues that demands for democracy, human rights, and economic change were a widespread catalyst for the emergence hundreds of thousands of popular movements in Latin American, Africa, and Asia, including movements of indigenous peoples, environmental movements, womens movements and Islamist action groups. These emerging popular organisations can be regarded as building blocks of civil society that will enhance the democratic nature of many political environments. The author speculates on the likelihood of their survival once the regimes under whose jurisdiction they must live, manage to exert control.David Held: Democracy and the Global Order, Cambridge: Polity Press, 1995.
This book includes an account of the history of democracy and the impact of globalisation from a theoretical perspective - the cosmopolitan democratic community, which does not require cultural integration, and is predicated on autonomy, achieved by lodging of the rights and obligations of democratic law in all the agencies involved, from grassroots organisation to multinational corporations. Held suggests a model which makes civil society institutions part of an international decision-making body, like Segalls UN Second Assembly. He concedes that his model does not in itself provide the possibility for change to the social and economic order, but it does create a climate of democratic rights which helps to make government more accountable.Noeleen Heyzer, James V. Riker, and Antonio B. Quizon: Government-NGO Relations in Asia: Prospects and Challenges for People-Centred Development Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1995.
This book traces the relationship between a growing NGO sector in Asia, and national governments that frequently follow development plans and strategies without extensive provision for NGO collaboration and participation. Asian NGOs vary widely in their relations with government, and in their approaches and capabilities, but all are beginning to recognise the implications of globalisation on the way in which they operate to influence policy and combat poverty.Richard Holloway: Supporting Citizens Initiatives : Bangladeshs NGOs and Society, London: Intermediate Technology, 1998.
A detailed and practical examination of the work of NGOs in Bangladesh, this book is a useful introduction to the role of the Third Sector in supporting sustainable development. It goes right back to the basics of what constitutes a non-governmental organisation, and how this might differ from country to country, sources of funding, and their profile in wider society. See also Richard Holloways Civil Society Toolbox, a series of personal notes and useful references, covering a range of specific areas of civil society organisations activity. Holloway himself admits the collection does not provide many examples from Latin America. Available online at: www.pactworld.org/toolbox.htmlAnn C. Hudock: NGOs and Civil Society: Democracy by Proxy? Cambridge: Polity Press, 1999.
Combining elements of organisational analysis with readings from international relations, Hudock provides a useful introduction to the way NGOs work. The book examines in detail NGOs increasing dependence on development agencies and government funders, and the impact of this on their autonomy and effectiveness. The author argues for a more thorough understanding of the constraints under which southern NGOs operate.Michael Kaufman and Haroldo Dilla Alfonso (eds.): Community Power and Grassroots Democracy: The Transformation of Social Life, London: Zed Books/IDRC, 1997.
The result of a long-term research project in several Central American countries, this book combines detailed case studies in individual countries with an integrated theoretical framework. It examines the obstacles to effective personal empowerment and popular participation, and uses these lessons to inform and progress the theoretical paradigm.John Keane: Civil Society :Old Images, New Visions, Cambridge: Polity Press, 1998.
A careful examination of the renewed interest in a variety of new interpretations of the classical distinction between civil society and the state. Keane traces its emergence in societies all over the world, and highlights the potential for dramatic new directions in which civil society could move in the future.Adrian Leftwich (ed.): Democracy and Development, Cambridge: Polity Press, 1995.
As aid becomes increasingly conditional on democratisation, this collection looks at whether this is feasible or desirable through a number of wider-ranging cases studies, including chapters by Jenny Pearce and Gordon White. Countries examined include South Africa, China, Chile, South Korea and Russia. Centres on the question of whether democracy is a condition of steady economic growth or whether the causality works the other way and you need some economic development for democracy to flourish. The conclusion is that it is the state and politics which are central for development, not governance and democracy.David Lewis (ed.): International Perspectives in Voluntary Action: Reshaping the Third Sector, London: Earthscan, 1999.
Essentially a comparative study of NGOs and voluntary agencies, contrasting their scope, scale and priorities, and discovering common ground in areas such as accountability, legitimacy, and governance. The collection broadens current debates about North-South relations, the nature of development, and the tension between theory and practice to include a much wider range of third sector organisations than is usually considered.Laura MacDonald: Supporting Civil Society: the Political Role of Non-governmental Organisations in Central America, Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1997.
Painting an essentially optimistic picture, MacDonald examines the turn to civil society organisations as channels for development aid, and as promoters of democracy in Latin America, following a disillusionment with bilateral arrangements. Case studies from Nicaragua and Costa Rica provide the basis for a comprehensive investigation of the many roles of NGOs, including their political aspects, and their relations with external partners and donors. The conclusion drawn is that, providing Northern NGOs learn to let go of their control of power and resources in their relationship with southern partners, and avoid a paternalistic stance, there is real potential for NGOs to be a powerful force for change in the region.Stephen N. Ndegwa: The Two Faces of Civil Society: NGOs and Politics in Africa, Kumarian, 1996.
Based around a comparative study of two local Kenyan NGOs, this book challenges assumptions about civil society as always a progressive democratic force. It focuses on the way in which NGOs contribute to and influence state-society relations, and exposes the centrality of personal leadership in NGOs decision to participate in political agitation. The book discourages generalisation, but acknowledges that any grassroots developmental work can facilitate local community participation in political actions, regardless of the level of organisational involvement.Terry Robson: The State and Community Action, London: Pluto, 1999.
Provides a thorough analysis of contemporary theoretical issues in community development, drawing on Gramscian ideas of hegemony and civil society. Robson examines the relationship between community and state, and asks whether this can be a stable and equal partnership, leading to radical change, or whether domination by the state is inevitable. Case studies cover Northern Ireland, Romania and the US.Lloyd Sachikonye (ed.): Democracy, Civil Society and the State: Social Movements in Southern Africa, Harare: SAPES, 1995.
Written in the mid-1990s, in the midst of dramatic political change in Southern Africa, this book provides a balance between country-specific case studies and a serious discussion of the application of Western liberal democratic theoretical discourse to Southern African priorities. Case studies from Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Swaziland, as well as South Africa, examine specific elements of that Southern African context, including: the effect of war on civil society operation; state-society relations; and the nature of social movements involved in democratic struggles. Contributors are all African academics.Margaret E. Keck and Kathryn Sikkink (eds.): Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1998.
The contributors to this volume examine a type of pressure group that has been largely ignored by political analysts: networks of activists that coalesce and operate across national frontiers. They sketch the dynamics of emergence, strategies, and impact of activists from different nationalities working together on particular issues, such as violence against women. This work highlights a subset of international issues, characterised by the prominence of ideas that are based in ethical principles, and a central role for NGOs.David Sogge with Kees Biekart and John Saxby (eds.): Compassion and Calculation: The Business of Foreign Aid, London: Pluto, with Transnational Institute, 1996.
Large NGOs, or private aid agencies, continue to enjoy enormous public confidence while also drawing increasing proportions of their income from governmental sources. The mechanisms for financial accountability are, however, far more developed than those to ensure political legitimacy. Contributors suggest that the NGO bubble will inevitably burst, and call on NGOs to be more honest and more courageous in deciding where their future lies.Alison Van Rooy (ed.): Civil Society and the Aid Industry, London: Earthscan, in association with The North-South Institute, 1999.
Among aid agencies, both official donors and NGOs, civil society has become something of what the editor of this volume calls an analytical hatstand. Uncritical and normative assumptions are made about what civil society is, how it functions, and how it can be supported by external agencies in furtherance of their own declared agenda of democratisation, good governance, and popular participation; but the lack of theoretical clarity on the one hand, and over-hastily disbursed funds on the other, can make for interventions that are profoundly damaging in their long-term impact. Critical case studies by scholar-activists from Hungary, Kenya, Peru, and Sri Lanka, are framed by excellent opening and concluding chapters by Van Rooy. See also North-South Institute entry.Journals
@lliance: published quarterly by The Charities Aid Foundation, ISSN: 1359-4621, Editor: Caroline Hartnell.
@lliance is aimed primarily at the funders of civil society initiatives worldwide, including international NGOs, governments, and multilaterals. As well as providing a forum for discussion between these stakeholders, the journal provides updates on relevant UK legislation, and a conference calendar. A recent issue was dedicated to the evaluation and accreditation of NGOs.Democratization: published quarterly by Frank Cass, ISSN: 1351-0347, Editors: Peter Burnell and Peter Calvert.
Dedicated to gaining a better understanding of the evolution of democratic institutions and practices, both within and across national and cultural borders. The journal makes special reference to devloping countries and post-communist societies, and aims to be of interest to policy makers and journalists as well as the academic world. See Especially Civil society, the market and democracy in Latin America Jenny Pearce, 4(2), 1997.Development: published quarterly by Sage on behalf of the Society for International Development, ISSN: 1011-6370, Editor: Wendy Harcourt.
A thematic journal to foster dialogue between activists and intellectuals committed to the search for alternative paths of social transformation towards a more sustainable and just world, with a particular focus on promoting local-global links. Relevant special issues include Reflection on Global Solidarity: One World or Several 34(1) 1991, Civil society: the third sector in action 39(3) 1996, Globalization: Opening up spaces for civic engagement 40(2) 1997, and Globalization: New institutions, new partnerships, new lives 40(3) 1997.Development in Practice: published five times a year by Carfax/Taylor & Francis on behalf of Oxfam GB. ISSN; 0961-4524. Editor: Deborah Eade.
A multi-disciplinary journal of practice-based analysis and research concerning the social dimensions of development and humanitarianism. It acts as a forum for debate and the exchange of ideas among practitioners, policy makers, and academics worldwide. The journal seeks to challenge current assumptions, stimulate new thinking, and shape future ways of working. We aim to publish articles that reflect a wide range of institutional and cultural backgrounds and a variety of professional experience. Other relevant titles in the Development in Practice Readers series include: Development and Patronage (forthcoming also in Spanish) and Development and Social Action.Millennium: Journal of International Studies: published three times a year by the Millennium Publishing Group, London School of Economics, ISSN: 0305-8298, Editors: Pavlos Hatzopoulos and Fabio Petito.
Includes a wide range of articles on topics such as international relations, democracy, and poverty and humanitarianism in a global political and economic context. A Special Issue in 1996 was titled: Poverty in World Politics:Whose Global Era? See also: Laura Macdonald, 1994 Globalising civil society: interpreting international NGOs in Central America, 23(2).Nonprofits and Voluntary Sector Quarterly: published quarterly by Sage, ISSN: 0899-7640, Editor: Steve Rathgeb Smith.
The journal publishes articles that report on research on voluntarism, citizen participation, philanthropy, civil society, and nonprofit organizations. See especially Volume 28 Supplemental, 1999: Globalization and Northern NGOs: The Challenge of Relief and Development in a Changing Context.Voluntas: published quarterly by Plenum Publishing Corporation for the International Society for Third-Sector Research, ISSN: 0957-8765, Editor: Jeremy Kendall.
This interdisciplinary journal provides a forum for empirical and theoretical analysis and debate about issues of relevance to the non-profit sector. There is a good geographical spread, and substantial attention to development NGOs. The journal aims to present cutting-edge academic debate in a format that is accessible to practitioners and policymakers. Abstracts are available in English, French, Spanish, and German.World Development: published monthly by Elsevier, ISSN: 0305-750X, Editor: Janet L. Craswell.
Recognising development as a process of change involving nations, economies, political alliances, institutions, groups, and individuals, the journal seeks to explore ways of improving standards of living, and the human condition generally, by examining potential solutions to problems such as: poverty, unemployment, malnutrition, disease, lack of shelter, environmental degradation, inadequate scientific and technological resources, international debt, gender and ethnic discrimination, militarism and civil conflict, and lack of popular participation in economic and political life. See for example, L.D. Brown and D. Ashman, Participation, Social Capital, and Intersectoral Problem Solving: African and Asian Cases, 24(9) 1996; A. Hadenius and F. Uggla, Making civil society work, promoting democratic development: what can states and donors do? 24(10) 1996.Organisations
Ashoka Innovators for the Public: Providing financial and professional support, Ashokas mission is to promote social entrepreneurship, encouraging individual pioneers in their efforts to solve social problems. Changemakers.net is Ashokas online newsletter, including Creative Resourcing Network, which is a forum for social entrepreneurs and civil society activists to exchange strategies for mobilising resources locally, rather than having to be dependent on international assistance. Web: www.ashoka.org or www.changemakers.net
Center for Alternative Development Initiatives (CADI): A Philippines-based civil society organisation, dedicated to promoting sustainable development through threefolding a process where government, civil society and business are all stakeholders in development plans and initiatives. Another focus is the advancing of cultural renewal through innovative educational activities, and support for civil society. Though deriving from Philippine Agenda 21 policies, CADI engages in publishing and networking in the international arena. A recent title is: Nicanor Perlas Shaping Globalization: Civil Society, Cultural Power and Threefolding, 1999. E-mail: Web: www.info.com.ph/~cadi/
Center for Civil Society International (CCSI): With a focus on Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, CCSI describes itself as an information clearinghouse, publishing in print and electronically, with the current priority of publicising creative collaborations between US NGOs and civil society organisations in the NIS (new independent states). The Center works in partnership with a similar information network in Moscow, and offers consultancy services in the use of the Internet for NGOs. The website is bilingual in English and Russian, and is a comprehensive source of information about NGOs, resources, jobs, and publications. Recent titles includes: M Holt Ruffin and Daniel Waugh (eds.): Civil Society in Central Asia, 1999; The Post-Soviet Handbook: A Guide to Grassroots Organizations and Internet Resources, 1999.
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Web: www.friends-partners.org/~ccsi/Centre for Civil Society, London School of Economics: Formerly the Centre for Voluntary Organisation, this is a teaching and research centre, interested in problems and issues arising from the work of voluntary agencies and NGOs and the implications for public policy. Research findings are tested and disseminated through publications, postgraduate teaching, and applied research projects. Two series of Working Papers are available online; titles include: Power in partnership? an analysis of an NGOs relationships with its partners, Sarah Lister; Exploring the concept of community: implications for NGO management, Jo de Berry.
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Web: www.lse.ac.uk/Depts/ccs/The Center for Civil Society Studies, Johns Hopkins University: Based in the Institute for Policy Studies, the Center specialises in detailed empirical studies of civil society organisations in the US and worldwide. Global Civil Society: Dimensions of the Nonprofit Sector (1999) is the result of comprehensive analysis of the scope, size, and financing of the non-profit sector in 22 countries, and working papers outline the situation in selected individual countries. Other publications include: Lester M. Salamon et al Global Civil Society: Dimensions of the Nonprofit Sector and The Emerging Sector Revisited: A Summary - Revised Estimates, 1999. The Center also offers a number of capacity building education and training programmes.
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Web: jhu.edu/~ccssCivil Society and Governance Programme - Institute of Development Studies: Funded by the Ford Foundation, this three year programme examines the interplay between civil society organisations and government in 22 countries. The emphasis is on gaining a clearer understanding of the character of civil society, while recognising regional variations, and on developing practical measures for strengthening civil societys impact as an agent for improving political life and governance, particularly with reference to social policy.
Web: www.ids.ac.uk/ids/civsoc/CIVICUS World Alliance for Citizen Participation: An alliance of organisations committed to strengthening citizen action and civil society worldwide, Civicus believes that private action for the public good can take place either within the civil sphere or in combination with government or with business and that a healthy society needs an equitable relationship among these different sectors. Publications include: Kumi Naidoo (ed.): Civil Society at the Millennium Kumarian, 1999; Miguel Darcy de Oliveira and Rajesh Tandon (coordinators). An Emerging Global Civil Society, and Citizens Strengthening Global Civil Society, 1994; Laurie Regelbrugge Promoting Corporate Citizenship: Opportunities for Business and Civil Society Engagement, 1999. Current work includes the Index on Civil Society, which looks at ways of capturing and learning from the diversity of civil society worldwide. Parts of the website are available in Spanish, French, and German. E-mail: ;
Web: www.civicus.orgCIVITAS: An international consortium to strengthen active citizen participation in democracy through civic education, CIVITAS provides an international network of resources and exchanges. CIVITAS partners maintain CIVNET, a web-based virtual library of teaching resources on civil society, including lesson plans and bibliographies, developed by its users worldwide. There is also a bi-monthly online journal. Web: civnet.org/civitas/civitas.htm
Inter-regional Coordinating Committee of Development Associations (ICCDA): Currently based in Senegal, the headquarters of this umbrella organisation of academic and applied research bodies, independent scholars, and development NGOs, rotates every three years. Its member organisations include the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), and the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO), all of which publish extensively on social policy issues, e.g. Mahmood Mamdani and Ernest Wamba-dia-Wamba (eds.): African Studies in Social Movements and Democracy Senegal: CODESRIA, 1995.
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Web: www.eadi.org/Focus on the Global South: Based in Thailand, this policy-oriented international research organisation emphasises a Southern perspective, and particularly focuses on the Asia-Pacific region. A key purpose is the recognition of innovative activities by grassroots civil society organisations, and to relate these community-based efforts to broader macro questions of state relations and the role of northern NGOs in sustainable development.
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Web: focusweb.org/International NGO Training and Research Centre (INTRAC): Recognising and supporting the commitment of the NGO sector to values that promote sustainable development, social justice, empowerment, and participation, INTRAC seeks to strengthen the organisational and management capacity of NGOs, and the institutional development of the sector as a whole. Its focus on training, consultancy, and research underpins its publishing programme. Relevant books and monographs include: NGOs, Civil Society and the State: Building Democracies in Transitional Countries (1996), Direct Funding from a Southern Perspective: Strengthening Civil Society? (1998), and NGOs and the Private Sector: Better Together than Apart (2000).
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Web: www.intrac.org/International Society for Third-Sector Research, Johns Hopkins University: ISTR is a research-based member organisation, with regional networks in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe, and Arabic-speaking countries. ISTR also publish Voluntas (see Journals entry).
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Web: www.jhu.edu/~istr/North-South Institute: The Institutes research programme examines aspects of the Canadian governments relationship with developing countries, including the contribution looking at how civil society organisations in the North and South can cooperate better to tackle poverty and promote equity. The website has documents and reports from the research which resulted in Van Rooys book (see entry above). There is an excellent bibliography, which includes many non-English language publications, and much grey literature. Also available: CD-ROM of Canadian Development Report 1999; Lynne Hately and Kamal Malhotra, Between Rhetoric and Reality: Essays on Partnership in Development, 1997.
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Web: www.nsi-ins.ca/Official development agencies: Many bilateral and multilateral agencies have established Civil Society Units or Programmes and/or are explicitly expanding their funding for non-governmental activities on civil society organisations (CSOs), as opposed to development NGOs in a narrow sense. Many of these agencies publish occasional papers and monographs on the subject, as well as hosting dedicated websites. Major examples include UNRISD, which has produced several research papers on civil society and democratisation; and UNDP, whose early papers on civil society as well as its annual Human Development Report,were influential in re-setting the parameters for development assistance (official and non-governmental). The World Bank has focused on civil society in relation to the state, and has looked specifically at the involvement of NGOs in social investment (safety-net) funds. Within the UN system, the main entry-point is to be found on the dedicated website page www.un.org/partners/civil_society/home.htm Among bilateral donors, DFID has established a Civil Society Challenge Fund, on which information can be found at www.dfid.gov.uk
People-Centred Development Forum: An international alliance of individuals and organisations dedicated to the creation of just, inclusive, and sustainable human societies through voluntary citizen action. Its founding director, David C. Korten, is author of many influential works, including Globalizing Civil Society: Reclaiming Our Right to Power (1998), published by Seven Stories Press, New York.
Web: iisd.ca/pcdf/The Synergos Institute: Believing that poverty will only be eradicated if a healthy civil society, comprising an active universe of non-profit NGOs that are devoted to advancing social and economic well-being, works together with business and government, the Institute fosters organised philanthropy through helping Southern organisations to establish endowments and foundations, while also seeking to encourage and form bridging leaders. Publications on a wide range of relevant issues focus both on cross-sector collaboration, strengthening civil society organisations in the South, how to establish foundations and endowments to support new initiatives, and civil society resource organisations. Authors include Alan Fowler, S. Bruce Schearer, Daniel Selener, Rajesh Tandon, Enrique Valencia, and David Winder.
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Web: www.synergos.org
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