Search results for " Society"

Latvia. Human Development Report 2012/2013: Sustainable Nation

2007

Sabiedrisko organizāciju loma Turcijas pievienošanās procesā ES.

2016

"Pilsoniskās sabiedrības organizācijas" ir vienas no būtiskākajiem spēlētājiem pēdējā laika sarunu procesos ar Turciju un ES. Eiropas Savienība pievērš lielu uzmanību tam, lai veidotu kontaktu un sadarbotos ar pilsoniskās sabiedrības organizācijām kandidātvalstīs. Šajā kontekstā Turcija, kā kandidātvalsts, cenšas turpināt šo procesu pilsoniskās sabiedrības dialoga ietvaros, kas pirms tam ir ticis palēnināts politiskās situācijas dēļ, lai gan Turcijas ES kandidatūra ir kalpojusi par kritisku izvērtējumu Turcijas PSO vēsturiskajam insitucionālismam. Vēl jo vairāk, ES Eiropas Komisijas ģenerālsekretārs un Eiropas Komisijas delegācija Turcijā cenšas paātrināt procesu ar daudzveidīgiem projektie…

Rethinking Civil Society in Development: Scales and Situated Hegemonies

2016

Ethnic residential segregation is often explained with the claim that ‘immigrants don’t want to integrate—they prefer to stick together with co-ethnics’. By contrast, mixed neighbourhoods are seen as crucial for achieving social cohesion. In line with spatial assimilation theory there is a normative assumption that people interact with those living nearby. From interviews on neighbourhood qualities and locations valued by Oslo residents of Turkish, Somali and Polish backgrounds, we raise questions about the validity of two assumptions: that most immigrants want to live in the same neighbourhoods as co-ethnics; and that they want to live close to co-ethnics because they do not want to integr…

Civil Society in the 2004 Romanian Elections: Watchdog, Involved Arbiter or Political Actor?

2010

Abstract Civil society has proven outstanding capacities of involvement in the 2004 general elections in Romania and put a remarkable pressure on the political society. This paper aims to discuss the consequences of such involvement for both the political and civil society. We also investigate the conditions that have favoured a successful challenge of the main political actors by the most visible civic advocacy organizations. Further, we inquire how deep can an actor from the civil society go into the lands of the political society. In the end, we weight the achievements and the failures of civil society’s active involvement in the game of elections.

BRIDGING THE NATION AND THE STATE: CATHOLIC CHURCH IN POLAND AS POLITICAL ACTOR

2020

One of the most recognized features of social-political reality in Poland is the role of Catholicism as the determinant of national-political identity and of Catholic Church as the influential political actor. Being undoubtedly peculiar Polish case can be viewed as the example of the religiosity intertwined with national and civil identity existent in different forms in the CEE (Central and Eastern Europe) region. The article aims at casting specifics of Polish case in the wider context of religious-political nexus in CEE stressing the distinctness of the region compared to some other parts of Europe. The conducted analysis focuses on the evolution of Church-state relations in Poland displa…

Kulturen des Reparierens

2018

Reparieren und Instandhalten sind ökonomisch wie kulturell zentrale Praktiken im »Leben« technischer Dinge und Infrastrukturen. Der Band rückt diese bislang wenig untersuchten Tätigkeiten in den Vordergrund und fragt nach den Wissensformen der unterschiedlichen Kulturen des Reparierens. Die Expertisen und politischen Ambitionen menschlicher Akteure finden dabei ebenso Berücksichtigung wie die Eigendynamik der Dinge. Die Beiträge untersuchen Praktiken wie die Uhr- oder Computerreparatur sowie Räume wie die Wohnung und das Krankenhaus, das Repair Café und die Stadt des Globalen Südens. Nicht zuletzt geht es um die Frage, inwiefern Reparieren und reparaturfreundliches Design zu mehr Nachhaltig…

Spain: commercialization drives public debate and precaution

2000

Since the commercialization of genetically modified (GM) crops and foods in Spain in 1996, these products have become a topic of public concern and conflict. Several important social protagonists from science, industry and civil society have become involved in the public debate. The conflicts have influenced the regulation, improving its precautionary content, in response to social pressures in Spain and elsewhere in Europe. As Spain has become the primary cultivator of GM crops in the European Union, commercial cultivation there has been scientifically monitored for possible long-term environmental effects. Regulators have also asked industry to cease using antibiotic-resistant marker gene…

Civil Society in Making: <i>Challenges of the Somali Diaspora Organizations</i>

2013

This article contributes to the discussion on migrants and civil society by directing attention towards the importance of transnational processes. Somali organizations in Finland will be addressed against the state-failure and conflict in Somalia. Among the Somalis, an NGO largely remains an alien and donor-driven concept, whereas clan, religious affiliations and associational structures may be blurred in complex ways. There is a need to rethink the concept of ‘civil society’ and how it could be analytically used in understanding transnational civic participation. The data comprises interviews with INGOs as well as observations and discussions with Somali associations.

The Paradox of Effectiveness: Growth, Institutionalisation and Evaluation of Anti-Mafia Policies in Italy

2004

This contribution focuses on Italian policies that have been envisaged and implemented to combat, prevent or contain mafia-type organised crime.1 After having shown that a proper analysis of anti-mafia policies is strangely lacking (section 2), policies directly addressing the mafia are dealt with, hinting at the norms concerning specific criminal offences, vast investigatory powers and penetrating preventive measures, financial transactions and money laundering, collaborators of justice, the peculiarity of mafia trials, judicial attitudes and sanctions (section 3.1). Section 3.2 presents the wide variety of other policies addressing civil society and public administrations, and only indire…

Institutions, crises, and political confidence in seven contemporary democracies. An elite-mass analysis

2017

There is ample consensus in the literature that institutional confidence by the public is needed in democracies and at the same time elites, particularly political elites, need to share this confidence in their guidance of state institutions, if political stability in established democracies and the consolidation of new democracies are desired. The research takes the form of a quantitative analysis based on the World Values Surveys and the elite surveys (parliamentarians) conducted in 2006 (before the financial crisis) and in 2012–2013 (post the crisis when apparently, the worst of the economic crunch had lessened up) in the 7 countries selected. We explore what lies at the base of politica…