Online communities have become commonplace in the modern world, developing on nearly every website and application. These communities can develop on a singular website, e.g. forums like Reddit and 4Chan where like-minded people can discuss and share ideas and websites like Facebook and Twitter which capitalize on social interactions; they develop around gaming platforms, e.g. Xbox live chat or Minecraft servers; and they can develop on applications solely developed to engage with other people, e.g. Internet relay-chatrooms and TikTok. The communities formed from these online services may differ in purpose but ultimately all function within the realm of an online community. I pose the question “How do governing structures in online civil society organizations influence individual behaviors?”, and conducted a case study on the Villoux Server System, an online service based on gaming but rooted in community-building that operates within an institutional framework similar to structures among geographically-bound communities.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the overall role of a Communicator within a civil society organization (CSO). The aim was to clarify the role of a Communicator by examining the daily functions, the approach applied, abilities required, as well as skills employed. In addition, the study focused on CSO organizational structure and leadership with respect to the role of the Communicator. To do so, the author studied her own functioning in the role of CSO Communicator. The triangulated qualitative research approach applied primarily participant observation, exercised through unobtrusive measures. The results showed support for the approach of a Business Communicator.

This paper studies the police reform in Egypt in the light of the revolution 2011. The ousting of the authoritarian president Hosni Mubarak was the beginning of the transition towards democracy. Within 15 months both parliamentary and presidential election had taken place. The political leaders were new and the transitional process had begun however the institutions where still the same and one feature of the revolution was to reform the police since the police was hated as the oppressive power it was. Transition from totalitarian regime to democracy is more than elections it is about reforming the institutions and especially the security sector hence they often play a significant role in oppressing the citizens in an authoritarian state. The police in Egypt used repressive methods to control the citizens. Therefore it is interesting to investigate whether the police are beginning to transform along the principles of democratic policing, a specific part of security sector reform focusing on the reformation of the police. The notion of human security with the people at the centre lay as a foundation of the theoretical framework. The material consists of in- depth interviews with leaders and active people in the civil society and their view regarding police work and police reform after the revolution. The conclusions drawn from the study is that the police lack capacity, understanding and training to reform. The reformation has to be influenced by political will from legislative and institutional level as well from the police officers themselves. There are challenges if a reform of the police will be successful and some of them are connected with national and international circumstances.

This master thesis is dealing with topic of citizen's involvement and civic participation in context of professionalized civil society organizations 's activities. The work is based on theoretical concepts of political and civic participation. Subsequently, civic participation and citizen's involvement is seen in the sense of civic activities carried out within or through civil society organizations and they include various forms in which citizens participate in public life, usually without financial reward. The paper also presents the concepts of professionalization that frame the subsequent reflection on the nature and potential of civic participation and citizen's involvement into activities of professionalized civil society organizations. The main part is a qualitative research whose aim is to describe and understand, from perspective of professionalized organization's representatives, how and why there is public participation within or through activities of the organization and what are the preferred forms and barriers of involvement and civic participation. Analysis of data obtained through in- depth interviews with representatives of professionalized civil society organizations, are discussed in the conclusion in relation to the research questions and theoretical basis Key words Civic...

This master’s thesis addresses how strategic development takes shape, when ideas connected to an organization’s historical heritage meet contemporary expectations of organizational development. The Church of Sweden Diaconia sets the example and in a qualitative case study this meeting has been examined. With new institutional theory as starting point the interpretation is made that the meeting between tradition and develop­ment can be under­stood as a meeting between a value based and a scientifically based logic. From the con­tradicting logics, the deacon and the social worker appear as institu­tional myths and as a double work identity. To maintain legitimacy, both logics need to be encom­passed. I introduce the idea of a space for intentional reflection, open for negotiation between the identities.

The worrying global trend of shrinking space for democracy and civil society necessitates a critical reevaluation, even within established democracies. While the urgency of the issue may at first appear less pronounced in a Western context, recent trends suggest a worrying similarity within the EU, particularly when it comes to the future of civil society organizations. This research delves into the potential effects and perceptions of recent changes in Swedish aid policy on civil society organizations. It examines how these changes may affect civil society autonomy, ownership, and overall effectiveness of development cooperation. The study considers the perspectives of civil society organizations using discourse analysis to understand their reasoning and concerns. Kingdon’s policy streams approach is used to provide valuable insights into the policy processes and by examining how CSOs experience access to civic space, how coping responses and autonomy evolve within our own political climate, we can discover potential parallels to experiences where the civil society is impeded. Should such parallels exist, especially with regard to a potential, albeit unlikely, similar experience in Sweden, proactive measures could be identified. Despite the complexities surrounding studying an ongoing phenomenon, this study finds (1) that there is a sense of negativity, especially among civil society groups, about the recent changes in development practices, (2) these changes might break established international agreements and make it harder for these groups to function effectively, (3) the uncertainty surrounding these changes is causing a lot of disruption and makes it difficult for civil society to know how to adapt, and (4) this uncertainty could potentially be a sign that civil society will have less freedom to operate in the future, and we need to be watchful to prevent that from happening.

The aim of my thesis is to create possible business plan for setting up a non-governmental organization Brnopolis. The thesis contains design for NGO foundation based on deep analysis and experiences with the non-governmental sector. The thesis should help with founding the NGO in really life.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the post-Soviet transformation process influenced the establishment of democratic institutions in the country of Georgia. Scholars and analysts from international organizations have revealed a gap in the development of the central and regional civil society organizations in Georgia. Using Morgan's organizational metaphors framework as a guide, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the nature, culture, and structure of regional nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Georgia. Research questions focused on the influence of the post-Soviet transformation on the development of Georgia's regional NGO sector and its perceived capacity as a democratic institution. Data were gathered through interviews with 9 stakeholders from 3 regional NGOs, observations of the organizations' daily operations, and review of publicly available documents and organizational records. The data were analyzed thematically, using structural and pattern coding. The analysis revealed that regional NGOs in Georgia are strong leader-driven, family style organizations and limited in their financial and organizational capacities. The insufficient intersectoral collaboration with local government and businesses has kept regional NGOs fully dependent on small grants provided by international donor organizations and large NGOs from the capital city, Tbilisi. That dependence has restricted local NGOs' ability to initiate programs based on the identified needs and demands of the local communities. The results of this study increase the knowledge of civil society organizations outside Tbilisi and offer recommendations for enhancing the organizational capacity of regional NGOs, leading to rapid democratization processes and positive social change in Georgia.

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The concept of participation seems to reflect in most development programmes that involve people at the grassroots level. In Ghana, the introduction of the decentralization programme in the late 1980s that aimed at promoting effective, comprehensive and rapid development, more especially in the rural areas also adopted participatory approach. The approach led to the introductory of district assembly system which was to enhance the involvement of people at the grassroots in participatory activities. However, since the introduction of the decentralisation system to promote grassroots level participation, the people are still inactive and the level of involvement in development decision-making still remains weak. To clearly understand these problems, the thesis has aimed at answering the following research questions; how are rural people involved in participatory practice in the development activities in their area; what barriers affect and hinder the active participation of rural people and how could these be addressed? Answers to those questions helped to examine the nature of participation at the grassroots level; understand how the district assembly adopt participatory practice and to ascertain the nature of barriers that hinder effective participatory practice. Using a case study approach for the investigation, an interpretivists and constructivists were the philosophical underpinnings of the investigation. The data was gathered through the use of focus group discussions and one-to-one informal interviews. It was observed that, participation continues to reflect in most rural development programmes, but there are key barriers that still continue to hamper the effectiveness of participatory practice. Power relations, threats, intimidations and more especially the use of juju and witchcraft which never featured in most development literature are among the major barriers that continue to weaken local people readiness to actively participate. Most rural people feel threaten to participate for the fear of being bewitched or killed through the use of juju, witchcraft or black magical powers. Without critically and effectively addressing those bottlenecks and barriers, and put community members at the pivot of decision-making, the use of outsiders' knowledge and ideas alone to address the problems of participation with the hope of improving the lives of the rural people will not yield any significant result.