The flow of political aid into civil society organizations has sparked extensive debates and controversies surrounding the impact of foreign aid on the efficacy of said organizations in recipient countries. These discussions explore foreign aid through theoretical and empirical lenses, investigating its implications on global, regional, and national levels of analysis. Consequently, fundamental notions of geopolitics, development, and normative considerations within the realm of International Relations (IR) have been called into question. By employing the theory of hegemony and the concept of agency, this paper aims to enhance our understanding of the interplay between the agency of civil society organizations and foreign aid. It addresses the question of What analyzing the agency of civil society organizations in Lebanon reveals about the possibilities for transforming the hegemonic relationships within foreign aid? The examination of Robert Cox’s contextualization of Gramsci's theory of hegemony in IR, combined with James C. Scott’s observation of peasant resistance in rural Malaysia, lays the foundation for this study. This study calls attention to the often-overlooked ability of civil society organizations to not only challenge but reshape the prevailing hegemonic dynamics of foreign aid. More importantly, this study instigates a nuanced exploration of agency, resistance, and the transformative capacity of CSOs derived from local perspectives and the subculture and values of the civil society in Lebanon

What is the impact of disease burden on democracy in sub-Saharan Africa? Despite increasing interest in the implications of health crises for state stability, there has been a dearth of literature exploring the relationship between disease burden more generally and democracy specifically. This thesis takes a comprehensive approach to bridge this gap in the literature. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, it draws on data from the Global Burden of Disease database and the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) dataset to analyze this relationship. The diseases studied are categorized as long-wave (e.g., HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis), short-wave (e.g., Ebola and lower respiratory infections), or endemic (e.g., malaria and an aggregate of other infectious diseases). In terms of democracy, this thesis focuses on civil liberties and civil society. Having utilized a linear regression, controlling for economic variables, this study found a positive and significant relationship between long-wave diseases and both civil liberties and civil society; a negative and significant relationship between Ebola and both civil liberties and civil society; a positive and significant relationship between lower respiratory infections and both civil liberties and civil society; and, finally, a positive and significant relationship between the other infectious disease aggregate and civil society. Ultimately, there was no significant relationship between the other diseases studied and the democratic variables. By identifying past relationships between particular kinds of diseases and manifestations of democracy, we can establish a baseline from which to project our expectations about how emerging diseases like COVID-19 will impact the practice of democracy.

This thesis explores the work of historians, history teachers, and NGO employees engaged in regional initiatives to mitigate the influence of enduring ethnocentric national histories in the Balkans. In conducting an ethnography of the development and dissemination of such initiatives, I queried how conflict and controversy are negotiated in developing alternative educational materials, how “multiperspectivity” is understood as a pedagogical approach and a tool of reconciliation, and how the interests of civil society intersect with those of the state and supranational actors. My research sought to interrogate the field of power in which such attempts to innovate history education occur, with attention trained on the values encoded and deployed in this work.

Various studies have shown the difficulty for peacekeeping missions to combat conflict-related sexual violence, including the abuse within their own ranks. Both policymakers and academics advocate for the inclusion of civil society in peacekeeping missions claiming that this can aid peacekeepers in this endeavour. However, there are no large-N studies examining this relationship. In this thesis, I aim to fill this gap by asking the research question: What impact does civil society have on peacekeeping missions’ ability to combat conflict-related sexual violence? I theorise that civil society inclusion can help reduce sexual violence by increasing knowledge of the local conflict dynamics and assisting with concrete projects. The theoretical argument is captured in two hypotheses where 1) civil society presence, and 2) broad peacekeeping mandates are two determinants of whether sexual violence likelihood will decrease. Using a sample of United Nations peacekeeping missions between 1991-2019 I test both hypotheses using logistic regression. The overall results generate weak support for the hypotheses. Nonetheless, there is an indication that combining civil society with broad mandates decreases the likelihood of government-perpetrated sexual violence. I conclude that more research must be dedicated to preventing future victims of war’s oldest crime.

No description available.

No description available.

This thesis aims to study the perception of local knowledge within Wale Wale Kenya, a small local organization operating in Kibera, Nairobi. The people who run the Kenyan organization have all grown up in Kibera and thus have strong local roots. An analysis of the Kenyan organization however extends beyond the “local” because of its collaboration with its partner organization Wale Wale Sweden. The partner organization contributes among other things with volunteers and interns from Sweden. The main research question guiding the thesis concern show local knowledge is perceived by two development NGOs, Wale Wale Kenya, and its Swedish partner organization Wale Wale Sweden, and how that relates to their sense of place of Kibera. The thesis is a result of qualitative field study at the organization Wale Wale Kenya where semi-structured interviews and observations were made. The findings show that the focus on the local aspect contributes to the creation of representation, understanding and passion within the organization. Furthermore, local knowledge is seen as unique and useful since it is linked to the particular place where it will be used. Local knowledge is also valued for its long-term perspective, a strong anchoring in the local community and that it empowers the members who run the organization. However, exposure to other places, beyond the locality of Kibera through influences by interns andvolunteers, is highly valued. Local knowledge is not seen as bounded to the local place but is also a result of the local interacting with global social processes.

This dissertation examines how the Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN) utilizes effective organizational and networking structures, along with a dynamic religious culture to produce empowering opportunities for women to engage in education, social services, and civic life. Most of the theorizing about civil society has taken Europe and North America as its primary focus, assuming a secular public sphere and leaving open questions about the nature of civil society where those assumptions do not hold. Questions about civil society in nonwestern contexts, in turn, have focused especially on the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and very little of that literature addresses the role of religion. Research elsewhere suggests, however, that religious NGOs may be critical players in the construction of civil society. This dissertation shows how FOMWAN creates trust and fosters agency among Muslim women in Nigeria, enabling them to improve the wellbeing of their communities and create networks across multiple religious and secular lines. To address the role of religious organizations, and FOMWAN specifically, in the construction of civil society, my research uses a triangulated qualitative research design, rooted in grounded theory. I conducted interviews with leaders of FOMWAN and its partners; fostered discussions with members of FOMWAN and some service recipients; conducted a content analysis of records (archival research); and conducted participant observation at FOMWAN events. The qualitative data were analyzed using the technique of grounded theory. Each component of the research sought to uncover how FOMWAN builds trust, agency, opportunities, and participation in decision-making for Muslim women in Nigeria. I find that FOMWAN follows in a line of historic Muslim women’s associations and was created in reaction to Nigeria’s weak and fragile state. I demonstrate the role of the organization’s religious culture and networks in creating a plural civil society. I argue that understanding Nigerian civil society requires understanding that religious ideas and cultures are a powerful force that shape a people’s worldviews and identities and have the potential for influencing human actions. My dissertation thus provides a critical intervention into broader debates about the role of Muslim women’s religious culture in development discourse and in the global South’s public life.

This thesis examined how Covid-19 affected the role of CSOs in the MLG EU’s system and how these CSOs adapted to the new challenges that appeared during the crisis to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on civil society in the EU. Moreover, it also used two case studies, Barcelona and Stockholm, that by focusing on the role of their CSOs during Covid-19 helped understand better how was the role of CSOs in the MLG EU’s system and allowed to give some normative recommendations on what lessons can be taken to the EU from CSOs of these two case studies, to improve the EU action across the different levels of governance when another crisis occurs. The method of analysis used in this research is thematic literature review because it allowed me to have a thematic combination of sources that were used to come up with a current summary of empirical and theoretical findings of the CSOs role and adaptation in the MLG EU’s system and from the two case studies, Barcelona and Stockholm. The analysis concludes that CSOs during the pandemic suffered a reduction of their civic space, but they were considered essential actors in the MLG EU’s system with a more relevant role than before Covid-19 because they showed their importance in reducing the social gap during the pandemic when the EU and EUMS could not handle society's needs alone. Moreover, CSOs showed how they can be very resilient when a crisis such as Covid-19 hit, they could adapt rapidly their vital services by switching their activities to digital mode among other initiatives to meet these challenges. It also showed, with the academic normative discussion on the EU and the two case studies, that the EU need to include CSOs, especially CSOs at the local level, in the participation for the agenda-setting as their knowledge and important role can contribute to making a more effective EU action plan for the different levels of governance when another crisis occurs helping reduce the lack of coordination that the EU experienced during Covid-19.

In the last fifteen years, conflict resolution, a collaborative, problem-solving approach to social conflicts, was introduced to new democracies in an attempt to develop civil society¿s capacity for conflict management (Mayer, 2000). Conflict resolution provides people with an opportunity to advocate effectively for their own interests in a non-violent, constructive manner through systematic educational efforts, skills trainings, dialogue initiatives, and mediation practices (Mayer, 2000). It empowers people to address, manage, and transform difficulties and antagonism into a source of positive social change and, thus, change people¿s negative psychological responses to conflicts (Bush & Folger, 1994). In this view, conflict resolution in new democracies¿ civil society provides citizens as well NGO practitioners with the skills and opportunities to practice how to express and resolve differences in a safe and constructive environment (Shonholtz, 1997). In an effort to provide additional information about civil society¿s conflict resolution practices and their affect in new democracies, this dissertation examines the existing efforts of South Korean civil society organisations to promote conflict resolution methodologies. Specifically, three organisations are examined to understand better South Korean civil society¿s response to PCR issues. Furthermore, by closely examining these three civil society organisations, this dissertation aims to explore what affect increased awareness and engagement in conflict resolution methodologies have on the democratic quality of civil society.