This thesis aims to understand how civil society developed and evolved in the modern history of Iran and how it operates in the current day through the eyes of the actors of this realm. The fieldwork of the study was conducted in Tehran in 2006. This study, while questioning the liberal understanding of civil society, endeavours to contemplate a consistent framework in which the Iranian civil society activities could be located. The Iranian case proved the existence of a vivid civil society despite a repressive political climate. However, instead of comprehending the Iranian civil society as constant or developing, this thesis showed that civil society is in fact evolving according to the power relations between the state and civil society. In this sense, Iranian civil society is neither weak or nor strong but rather its strength is changing vis-&agrave / -vis the relations with the Iranian state.

The aim of this thesis is to analyze the last phrase of democratization process in Georgia that refers to democratic consolidation period, while focusing on the role of civil society organizations. The main focus area will be post-Rose Revolution period hence, the Rose Revolution that occurred in 2003 is considered as an example of democratic transition and as a nature of successful democratization development, the transition period must be followed by the democratic consolidation process. In order to examine the consolidation of democracy in Georgia, the study sheds light on the development of civil society, the aims of activities of civil societal actors and their relations with state, society, international actors and media. This thesis argues that in order to consolidate democracy, the civil society&rsquo / s interaction with state and society must be effectual however, the Georgian civil society organizations are unable to mediate the relations with state and society, especially after the Rose Revolution. As a result of the problematic relations, Georgian democratic consolidation process is failing. This thesis is based on the qualitative data which is collected during a fieldwork in Georgia.

This thesis mainly aims to understand how the realms of &ldquo / the political&rdquo / and &ldquo / nonpolitical&rdquo / are comprehended, defined and differentiated on the practice of volunteerism in civil society. This study is based on an ethnographic research conducted with people who are volunteering in a Non-Governmental Organization in Turkey working in the field of education. The data were collected through in-depth interviews and participant observation by following the volunteers who regularly visit the elementary schools in villages and Yatili Ilk&ouml / gretim B&ouml / lge Okullari (Regional Boarding Elementary Schools) in order to help school children. Volunteers&rsquo / strong emphasis on the construction of volunteer activity and political activity as opposing categories and their strategies and rules conducted for avoiding any political representation, their perception of politics as &ldquo / spoiled&rdquo / and useless and responsibilizing themselves for their target group constituted the grounds of this study. Basing on the data and following the Foucauldian concept of governmentality / it is argued that the idea &ldquo / non-politics&rdquo / is a new type of politics which is experienced in late liberalism. By prioritizing &ldquo / how&rdquo / questions, this study discusses how volunteerism and politics are defined and how individuals feel responsible for the tasks which were previously seen as duties of state.

This research aims to analyze the relationship between non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC). To understand the making of the ICC and the role of NGOs in its making is the intention behind this research project. It is for this reason that this thesis begins with a detailed examination of the emerging roles of NGOs in international relations. Subsequently, the background of ICC’s making is mentioned. It is divided into two parts, including participation of states and participation of NGOs. Regarding participation of NGOs in the making of the ICC, NGO Coalition for the ICC (CICC) plays a crucial role in this campaign. In summary, the lessons learned from CICC can be concluded as follows: - setting and controlling the international political agenda - gathering and analyzing information quickly - using the media as a means of dissemination - increasing communications with States - coordinating information and strategy - reducing coalition-building costs - monitoring and implementing international law The creation of the ICC can be seen as a multilateral mechanism for concerted international human security efforts. If we can apply the lessons that CICC have learned, then many more successful campaigns will be expected soon.

The international community has seen a dramatic increase in the complexity of aid operations, with increasing numbers of donors participating in humanitarian aid endeavors. Therefore, it is essential to determine factors that contribute to successful aid delivery. In an effort to guide more effective and efficient aid operations, this study investigated organizational culture in three distinct types of humanitarian organizations: (a) the U.S. military, (b) the International Federation of the Red Cross, and (c) a sampling of local and indigenous non-governmental organizations. Being a relatively unexplored area, this study took an exploratory approach, utilizing qualitative methods to analyze humanitarian aid efforts. Organization types were evaluated as individual case studies, consisting of in-depth interviewing, naturalistic observer studies, and reviews of records and reports. The study utilized the Hofstede Cultural Orientation Model as a theoretical framework to systematically compare organizational cultures. Overall, the study lends support to the general principle that organizational culture plays an important role in the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Differences in group culture emerged and were indicative of the varied cultures of prominent aid organization types. A systematic cross cultural comparison of the three aid delivery types indicate that the basic assumptions and beliefs that guide humanitarian organizations vary greatly, affecting how organizations act and interact with others. Findings yielded support for collaborative efforts, while also highlighting differences in policy and practice. The study also identified areas of cultural divergence, allowing for a clearer understanding of differing aid delivery methods, organizational decision making, and the affect on collaboration. Findings stress the importance of bridging organizational differences more effectively. These findings come almost ten years after Hurricane Mitch, countless pledges to humanitarianism and the determination of the need for collaboration. Yet results indicate that the international community continues to grapple with many of the same issues, highlighting the need for better communication, unity of effort, and strengthening of relationships between the military and the NGO community. Findings also suggest the need for further research, changes in policy and practice and a call to action.

The assemblage of competing development programs I call an "NGOscape", effective in Bangladesh's forest spaces, is a window into understanding both local and extra-local imaginings of the future of these spaces. By tracing the close interaction of three of the most prominent forces in operation in Bangladesh's forest NGOscapes: indigeneity, environmentalism, and entrepreneurialism, I discuss how the government and NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) work to increase management and securitization of these forces. Through ethnography and close analysis of the minority Mandi community, and NGOs in the capital city of Dhaka and in rural Modhupur, Tangail, I interpret Modhupur as a vital and telling site for examining the close interdependence of these three themes. Adivasi ("aboriginal") folklorization and representation is deployed by Mandi leaders and NGOs, and provides a space for Mandi internal debates about authenticity, representation, modernity, and the way forward. Neoliberal imaginings centered on transforming Mandi livelihoods into something more appropriately modern are realized on the ground, evidenced by Alternative Income Generation (AIG) programs that push for market integration, and attempt to utilize claims about adivasi indigeneity to advance a security-management paradigm, national stability, and civic responsibility. Young activists and environmentalists based in Dhaka are crucial forces in promoting the broader development and NGO agenda, utilizing the themes of environmental responsibility and progressive conservation programs. Additionally, development agendas are complicated by other factors, such as eco-tourism trends that seek to indoctrinate the Mandi and other rural actors into acceptable and responsible ways of managing environment, while also relying on national pride. These competing forces rely on national pride and social shaming to transform rural Bangladeshis from being somehow "backward" into more desirable, modern subjects. Yet severe distrust within a larger "climate of suspicion," between adivasi leaders, activists, and the state ultimately disrupt the fluidity of development practices at the local level. The result places various actors in precarious positions, left to interpret and be interpreted into development, NGO, and state-based objectives. / text

Indigenous peoples are garnering more focus on the world stage, and as such it is critical to understand their role in development. Indigenous peoples are especially impoverished, and often face institutionalized discrimination by their governments and other forces. This repression, limited access to services, and resource predation endanger indigenous peoples’ lives and livelihoods. I attempted to identify indigenous peoples’ policies in seven major development international non-governmental organizations, and after finding none upon document research and staff interviews, propose theories for why this could be the case. I compare international non-governmental organizations’ lack of policies to the presence of policies in international organizations. The difference between these two types of organizations formed the base of my theories, which were based primarily around the organizational structure and the different types of pressure and expectations that they face. I argue, though, that international non-governmental organizations should have indigenous peoples’ policies for several reasons including the improvement seen in international organizations’ treatment of indigenous peoples and the importance of accountability and transparency in the development process. The Report finishes by suggesting avenues to test the theories proposed, and plans for indigenous advocates. / text

The number of the Palestinian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) has grown substantially in recent years. As the sector has expanded it has experienced a high level of internal competition especially due to scarce donor resources and their requirements such as greater financial accountability and clearer evidence of program influence. Therefore strategic thinking and the use of strategic management approaches are very much needed. While the volume of research on strategic management in large corporations is extensive research on strategic management in SMEs is relatively limited and the research on strategic management in NGOs is very limited. Therefore, following the recommendations of the prior researchers for further studies, this research is an attempt to shed light on the top mangers` perception of the importance of strategic management processes in NGOs in Palestine. This research discovered that more than half of the NGOs surveyed have strategic management systems indicating that a significant proportion of NGOs view strategic management as crucial. Managers of the studied NGOs perceived a strategic management approach as an important factor for increasing the quality of service delivery, achieving goals and increasing overall organizational performance. Regarding the internal organizational factors managers believed that employing strategic management techniques helped significantly in sorting out organizational problems, reducing organizational conflicts and aiding organizational development. The NGOs that have set a strategic management approach are more adjustable to environmental factors. The environmental awareness of managers in NGOs is very important. The managers` strategic awareness and their perception of the III benefits coming from a formal strategic planning approach within the NGO considerably impacts upon the success of the organisation. They perceived environmental scanning as a very important factor for NGO success. Environmental scanning is also perceived as a significant factor in the strategic management process and its impact upon performance. The studied NGOs placed most emphasis on a mission statement followed by evaluating and assessing and developing a vision statement and yearly goals. The respondents considered flexibility, adjustability and organizational development as important elements in implementing strategies. As the size of the NGOs increased their use of strategic management approaches such as developing a mission statement and objectives, annual and long term goals and employing formal strategic planning techniques increased. Managers of NGOs perceived the - value of leadership presented by managers' as the first priority in the factors which are significant for future success. This emphasises the significance of leadership as a crucial factor for success in all organizations in general and in NGOs in particular. In this research it has been recommended that donors from the international community, the Islamic and the Arab world should continue to support Palestinian NGOs. Indeed they have the right to ask the Palestinian NGOs to show transparency, accountability and to be moderate and well managed. On the other hand they should respect the Palestinian national agendas and priorities and not use the assistance being given as a political tool. The Palestinian National Authority should allow NGOs the freedom to operate effectively and ensure that the relationship between NGOs and Palestinian National Authority is a cooperative one.

The question of what agenda drives NGO peacebuilding in post-conflict setting has been raised in a number of literatures which make generalized conclusions that NGOs tend to respond to the liberal peace agenda, and in the process co-opt local peacebuilding initiatives. Liberal peace agenda refers to the post-conflict peacebuilding approach based on the promotion of democracy, economic liberalization, human rights and the rule of law. As such, NGOs are seen as privatizing peacebuilding, marginalizing local initiatives and applying unsustainable approaches to peacebuilding in post-conflict contexts. Provoked by these assertions, I conducted field research in northern Uganda, which up to 2006 had experienced 22 years of conflict between the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and Government of Uganda (GOU). I contend in my findings that while to some extent the generalized observations made by liberal peace critics are true, they fail to fully engage with the micro aspects of post-conflict peacebuilding. The macro-analytic assertions of the liberal peace critics ignore the plurality of the NGO peacebuilding practice, the diverse internal organizational culture, and the complexities and diversities of the contextual dynamics of post-conflict settings. My research was based on a micro level analysis and demonstrated that the peacebuilding process in northern Uganda was interactive, and, as such, engendered diverse encounters of sense-making, relationship building and co-construction of peacebuilding discourse and practice between NGOs, donors and local community. The study shows that peacebuilding was essentially relational and developed through a process of relational constructionism, which denotes social processes of reality construction based on relational encounters.

With origins in the South Bronx area of New York in the early 1970s, hip-hop culture is now produced and consumed globally. While hip-hop activities can be varied, hip-hop is generally considered to have four forms or “elements”: DJing, MCing, b-boying/b-girling, and graffiti. Although all four elements of hip-hop have become a part of many youth work initiatives across the globe, public debate and controversy continue to surround hip-hop activities. Very little research and literature has explored the complexities involved in the assembling of hip-hop activities in youth work sites of practice using these hip-hop elements. This study attends to the gap in hip-hop and human service literature by tracing how hip-hop activities were assembled in several sites of youth work activity in Christchurch, New Zealand. Actor-network theory (ANT) is the methodological framework used to map the assemblage of hip-hop-youth work activities in this study. ANT follows how action is distributed across both human and non-human actors. By recognising the potential agency of “things”, this research traces the roles played by human actors, such as young people and youth workers, together with those of non-human actors such as funding documents, social media, clothing, and youth venue equipment. This ethnographic study provides rich descriptions or “snapshots” of some of the key socio-material practices that shaped the enactment of hip-hop-youth work activities. These are derived from fieldwork undertaken between October 2009 and December 2011, where participant observation took place across a range of sites of hip-hop-youth work activity. In addition to this fieldwork, formal interviews were undertaken with 22 participants, the majority being youth workers, young people, and youth trust administrators. The ANT framework reveals the complexity of the task of assembling hip-hop in youth work worlds. The thesis traces the work undertaken by both human and non-human actors in generating youth engagement in hip-hop-youth work activities. Young people’s hip-hop interests are shown to be varied, multiple, and continually evolving. It is also shown how generating youth interest in hip-hop-youth work activities involved overcoming young people’s indifference or lack of awareness of the hip-hop resources a youth trust had on offer. Furthermore, the study highlights where hip-hop activities were edited or “tinkered” with to avoid hip-hop “bads”. The thesis also unpacks how needed resources were enlisted, and how funders’ interests were translated into supporting hip-hop groups and activities. By tracing the range of actors mobilised to enact hip-hop-youth work activities, this research reveals how some youth trusts could avoid having to rely on obtaining government funds for their hip-hop activities. The thesis also includes an examination of one youth trust’s efforts to reconfigure its hip-hop activities after the earthquakes that struck Christchurch city in 2010 and 2011. Working both in and on the world, the text that is this thesis is also understood as an intervention. This study constitutes a deliberate attempt to strengthen understandings of hip-hop as a complex, multiple, and fluid entity. It therefore challenges traditional media and literature representations that simplify and thus either stigmatise or celebrate hip-hop. As such, this study opens up possibilities to consider the opportunities, as well as the complexities of assembling hip-hop in youth work sites of practice.