This book discusses the diversity and resilience in a hybrid regime where civil society organisations are either provided with complex sets of opportunities or face severe constraints. By studying the case of Iran between 1997 and 2013, it shows how the Islamic Republic regime went into two opposite directions under two presidencies and played in-between supporting and suppressing advocacy NGOs. After accommodating a novel theoretical framework enabling scholars to identify the contributing factors of diversity in the regime, four case-study chapters are designated for comparing the women’s rights and environmental NGOs across local and national governments. These two political and technical policy areas demonstrate the different scopes of freedoms for advocacy NGOs. The contrasting narratives of the civil activists and policymakers imply paradoxes and shifts in the arrangement of opportunities for action and advocacy, although the leadership and structure of the regime remained unchanged during the period of study.

This book discusses the diversity and resilience in a hybrid regime where civil society organisations are either provided with complex sets of opportunities or face severe constraints. By studying the case of Iran between 1997 and 2013, it shows how the Islamic Republic regime went into two opposite directions under two presidencies and played in-between supporting and suppressing advocacy NGOs. After accommodating a novel theoretical framework enabling scholars to identify the contributing factors of diversity in the regime, four case-study chapters are designated for comparing the women's rights and environmental NGOs across local and national governments. These two political and technical policy areas demonstrate the different scopes of freedoms for advocacy NGOs. The contrasting narratives of the civil activists and policymakers imply paradoxes and shifts in the arrangement of opportunities for action and advocacy, although the leadership and structure of the regime remained unchanged during the period of study. Mohsen Moheimany holds a PhD in political science from Dublin City University. He received his MA of public policy from The University of Nottingham. Mohsen's area of interest is mostly Iran's civil society, with the experience of writing for local and international publications and media. Previously, Mohsen published a book chapter with Routledge publication about the changing civil society and the hybrid regime in Iran. "Mohsen Moheimany's book is an empirically grounded and theoretical sophisticated study of the political trajectories Iran has experienced over the course of the last two decades and how they influenced the real of civil society. The back and forth between reformism and conservatism demonstrates clearly how policies are shaped in Iran, highlighting the complexity of social and political relations in the Islamic Republic. This study is a brilliant effort to shine the light on policy-making in an authoritarian context." Professor Francesco Cavatorta, Political Science, Laval University .

This book provides an insight into the historical changes and present-day circumstances that have influenced, and continue to influence, the development and future of civil society. Civil society organisations (CSOs) play a crucial role in international development, however their impact on policy and practice is limited by a range of shifts across their political, social and financial landscapes. Barriers to Effective Civil Society Organisations is divided into three parts addressing each of these shifts in turn, and places particular emphasis on civil society actors linked not only by political constraints, but also by ethnic and cultural diversities that are crucial markers of political and social identity. This book draws on case studies from across Latin America, Africa, MENA and Ireland to highlight how CSOs in these countries are shaped by, and react to, shifting challenges. Reflecting on solutions for the sector, the authors provide an understanding of the various ‘self-accommodation’ policies and techniques employed by CSOs in order to continue their services and increase their credibility across global contexts. Aimed at researchers, policy makers and CSO/NGO workers looking to better understand the current state and future of the sector from the perspective of emerging scholars working in these regions, and in the Global South in particular, this innovative book is a celebration of the important work of CSOs and a reaffirmation of their right to sit at the policy table.

This book investigates the political, social, and economic dynamics and structures that influence the leadership of Civil Society Organisations at the local, national, and global levels. Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) play an increasingly important role in the political, economic, and social dynamics that shape daily lives across the world. Encompassing a diverse range of organisations, objectives, and activities, the CSO sector is an expansive terrain characterised by dynamic relationships between leaders, agents of action, the communities, and the global challenges that drive their agenda, which span from poverty to climate emergency to injustice to inequalities. Drawing on case studies from Brazil, India, Yemen, Syria, Iran, and Turkey, this book explores the distinct challenges faced by CSO leaders, their current operational practices, and their strategies for future development. The book highlights the roles, contributions, and challenges of young CSO leaders in particular, at a time when they are taking an increasingly active role as agents for change and development. Overall, the book emphasises the ways in which CSO leaders are not only shaped by profound challenges such as Covid-19, but also proactively react and respond. It will be of interest to researchers across the fields of global development, business studies, peacebuilding, international relations, and civil society.

This 2005 book argues that individuals move into transnational activism which links domestic to international politics.

This book analyzes how international organizations and the European Union engage with civil society to pursue their policy goals. Multi-stakeholder initiatives, private-public partnership, sub-contracting, political alliances, hybrid coalitions, multi-sectoral networks, pluralist co-governance, and indeed foreign policy by proxy are all considered. Bringing together the most advanced scholarship, the book examines trade, environment, development, security, and human rights with reference to both EU and global institutional settings such as the WTO, UN Climate Summits, FAO, IFAD, ICC, UNHRC, UNSC, and at the EU level the DG FISMA, TRADE, CLIMA, DEVCO, HOME and ECHO. The book also studies the use of NGOs in the foreign policy of the EU, USA, and Russia. This changing politics and the polarized debate it has generated are explored in detail.

The terms 'global' and 'civil society' have both become part of the contemporary political lexicon. In this important new book, Mary Kaldor argues that this is no coincidence and that the reinvention of civil society has to be understood in the context of globalization. The concept of civil society is no longer confined to the borders of the territorial state. Whether one considers dissidents in repressive regimes, landless labourers in Central America, campaigners against land mines or global debt, or even religious fundamentalists, it is now possible for them to link up with other like-minded groups in different parts of the world and to address demands not just to national governments but to global institutions as well. This has opened up new opportunities for human emancipation, and, in particular, for going beyond war as a way of managing global affairs. But it also entails new risks and insecurities. This is a book about a political idea - an idea that came out of the 1989 revolutions. It is an idea that expresses a real phenomenon, even if the boundaries and shape of the phenomenon are contested and subject to constant redefinition. The study of past debates as well as the actions and arguments of the present is a way of directly influencing the phenomenon, and of contributing to a changing reality, if possible for the better. The task is all the more urgent in the aftermath of September 11. Global Civil Society will be read by students of politics, international relations and sociology, as well as activists, policy-makers, journalists and all those engaged in global public debates.