Global Civil Society in the Global Political Arena
to appear in George Mason University, Center for Global StudiesLisa Jordan
Published: July 2006
Keywords: civil society, globalization, globalisation, NGO, IGO, governance, Civil Society
Abstract:
Global civil society is a relatively new layer of networks and organizations that operate beyond national borders. Over 20,000 of these networks are already active on the world stage, 90 % of which have been formed within the last thirty years. Many--including Jubilee 2000, the Global Campaign to Ban Landmines, Amnesty International - have become household names. The emergence of global civil society can be interpreted as a response by citizens to rapidly changing conditions of governance and community in an increasingly interconnected world, or -- in a word -- to globalization. Globalization has spread wealth, opportunity and new possibilities across the globe. However, it has also unraveledmany of the social and cultural contracts that states and citizens have painstakingly built over the past centuries to advance social goals and protect groups from the abuse of their rights--through rules, standards and regulations that decide how the costs and benefits of change are distributed within and between societies. Within the context of globalization, global civil society plays two important roles that when taken together may add up to global civil society being an agent for democracy.
Disciplines: Governance
Publication: LisaJordan.pdf