Product Description: Although many contemporary scholars have deepened our understanding of civil society through critiquing the limits of civil society discourse or seeking to offer empirical analyses of existing civil societies, none have attempted anything as bold or original as Jeffrey C...read more

Product Description: There has been clear recognition of tendencies towards uncritically celebrating resistance and the need for critical appraisal within the literature on globalization and contestation. This book provides a conceptual history of global civil society and a critical examination of the politics of resistance in the global political economy...read more

Product Description: John Robert Kelley puts forth that modern diplomatic efforts derive not from states whose centuries-long power is loosening, but rather from a new breed of diplomats—exit the diplomacy of institutions; enter the diplomacy of individuals competing for power...read more

Product Description: In this straightforward exploration of core problems facing humanity, Harold Saunders outlines how concerned citizens can bring about social and political change. Using examples from the U.S. to South Africa, Tajikistan to China, this book is full of real stories of how building 'relationship' among people can empower citizens outside government...read more

How do influential social ideas contribute to global governance? This book takes an original approach to international relations by looking at the way social ideas help to portray the world in a particular way. Jonathan Joseph begins by analysing the role of important concepts such as globalisation, global civil society, social capital, networks and risk; then examines the role these concepts play in the discourse of international organisations. Using the concept of governmentality, he argues that contemporary social theories help justify contemporary forms of governance. By comparing organisations like the EU and the World Bank, Joseph investigates the extent to which these ideas are influential in theory and in practice.

Product Description: This book takes up Foucault's hypothesis that liberal "civil society," far from being a sphere of natural freedoms, designates the social spaces where our biological lives come under new forms of control and are invested with new forms of biopower...read more

Civil Society has become a standard work of reference for those whoseek to understand the role of voluntary citizen action. Recentglobal unrest has shown the importance of social movements andstreet protests in world politics. However, as this lucid bookshows, the power that people have to shape their societies isusually channeled through day-to-day participation in voluntaryassociations and communities: expressions of “normal”civic life beyond the headlines. This is the underlying story ofcivil society. This new edition explores issues that have developedrapidly in recent years, including the overlaps between civilsociety and the market in the form of social enterprises and“venture philanthropy,” and the increasing role ofsocial media and information and communication technologies incivic interaction. Different varieties of civil society in theMiddle East, Africa and elsewhere are investigated in more detail,and case studies, data, and references have been updatedthroughout. Colleges, foundations and NGOs, policy-makers,journalists and commissions of inquiry Ð all have usedEdwards’s book to understand and strengthen the vital rolethat civil society can play in deepening democracy, re-buildingcommunity, and addressing inequality and injustice. This newedition will be required reading for anyone who is interested increating a better world through voluntary citizen action.

Product Description: As the nature of war has changed, so has the role of civilians in it. In an increasingly interconnected and globalized world, the way that media, civil society, and non-governmental actors engage with conflict can be as important as what happens on the battlefield...read more

Product Description: Theorizing NGOs examines how the rise of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) has transformed the conditions of women's lives and of feminist organizing. Victoria Bernal and Inderpal Grewal suggest that we can understand the proliferation of NGOs through a focus on the NGO as a unified form despite the enormous variation and diversity contained within that form...read more

Nongovernmental organizations act on behalf of citizens in politics and society. Yet many question their legitimacy and ask who they speak for. This book investigates how NGOs can become stronger advocates for citizens and better representatives of their interests. Sabine Lang analyzes the choices that NGOs face in their work for policy change between working in institutional settings and practicing public advocacy that incorporates constituents' voices. Whereas most books on NGOs focus on policy effectiveness, using approaches that treat accountability largely as a matter of internal performance measurements, Lang instead argues that it is ultimately several public accountabilities that inform NGO legitimacy. The case studies in this book use empirical research from the European Union, the United States, and Germany to point to governments' role in redefining the conditions for NGOs' public advocacy.

Product Description: This book addresses a fundamental concept in political thought—the “state of nature”—through a comparative and cross-cultural approach. Western social contract thinking usually falls along lines identified with scholars like Hobbes or Rousseau, with accordant debate over whether humans are good, bad, or just selfish; conflict prone or cooperative; egocentric or altruistic; with subordinate discussions about the proper limits of sovereign authority...read more

Product Description: Transnational civil society is often seen as an important contributor to the democratization of global governance. In their engagement with the World Bank, however, transnational civil society organizations prioritize pre-existing mission over responsiveness to claimed stakeholders and undercut the authority of developing country governments...read more

Product Description: NGOs have proliferated in number and become increasingly influential players in world politics in the past three decades. From the 1970s, with the access of social movements and private NGOs to local and international institutions, NGOs have enjoyed an opening to bring impact global policy debates...read more