Since the economic reform and opening up in 1978, the social environment on the Mainland of China has been changed. A golden opportunity was created for the development of the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) which have been growing rapidly in recent years. Before the reform carried out throughout China, the Government had an overall and exclusive control of and thus took full responsibilities for all affairs. Under such a circumstance, community organizations and market factor were subject to the country, and short of independence and autonomy. After the reform, market-oriented economy has been creating an advantageous social environment for NGOs; in the meanwhile, a great number of NGOs have risen and developed bringing more vitality to the market economy. It is in this way that the shape of the civil society and the stability of market economy have become a whole, inseparable life community. Following Corporatism, this dissertation highlights the idea that the relationship between a country and a society is not only a vertical one, but also one of mutual benefit, cooperation and exchange. This paper will explore Chinese women¡¦s NGOs¡¦ systematic management, diverse situation, and existing problems in the post-reform China, which had undergone multiple major impacts, including the Government Party¡¦s (PRC) loosened control over community organizations, dramatic changes in party relationship and official functionality, the awakening of women¡¦s self consciousness of their own rights as a result of international women¡¦s movements and UN World Conference on Women, and the raised socio-economic level over the country. This dissertation will focus on the development of women¡¦s NGOs in 1990s in China, and be supported by cases of the All-China Women¡¦s Federation (ACWF) and other kinds of female NGOs current situations. This paper will also discuss how the ACWF has been changed from a regular governmental organization into a significant NGO. With the spreading concept of civil society on the mainland, Chinese women¡¦s NGOs have also bloomed step by step into a more diversified entity, especially those build up from the community.

This thesis analyzes the debate revolving around the concept of civil society in Turkey with reference to academic literature. It argues that despite the seeming variety of approaches to the concept of civil society, there is an underlying commonality among the widespread usages of the concept. These seemingly different approaches in the end become the versions of the same hegemonic view. This, in turn, causes a vicious circle in the civil society debate in Turkey. The basis upon which this hegemonic view is built are the central premises of the liberal idea of civil society. With its constant reference to the strong state-weak civil society dichotomy / to the &lsquo / ideal&rsquo / of civil society as a checking mechanism over the state / and to a particular understanding of pluralism without antagonism and with an emphasis on consensus, this view underlies the majority of scholarly works in Turkey. However, important aspects of civil society are ignored by this hegemonic position. In order to render the concept of civil society a useful analytical tool there is a need to underline that state and civil society do not exist as distinct entities and that the relations characterizing civil society are not characterized by the liberal idea of harmonious pluralism but by uneven power relations resulting in inequalities as well as marginalization, exclusion, and silencing of some in the society. Thus, the Marxist conception of civil society can open the gate for a more fruitful usage of the concept of civil society for socio-political analysis.

Political success in semi-democratic countries has two aspects: shifting the balance of power in one’s favor and maintaining it. This thesis seeks to examine how the AKP has succeeded in shifting the balance of power in its favor while its predecessor the Welfare Party did not. Focusing on electoral success, existing research primarily lists center-periphery conflict, moderation, class struggle, party organization, and failures of others as the main determinants. Yet the significance of reining in the power of the Kemalist state structure has been mostly disregarded. Therefore, with a comparison of the AKP (2002-2007) and the Welfare Party (1996-1997) governments, this study tests one assertion using most-similar systems research design that in semi-democratic political settings with strong authoritarian actors, political parties that build broad coalitions via group specific policy promises will be more likely to shift the balance of power in favor of themselves than actors that lack such connections.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:32:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2006-03-10Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:43:09Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 souza_jc_dr_assis.pdf: 951240 bytes, checksum: d684b449784f6edb48ef83e33ca5402a (MD5) / O Partido Liberal paraguaio foi fundado em 1887, mas desde 1870 tentava se articular como grupo político, com a finalidade de chegar ao poder, o que viria a acontecer em 1904. Dessa data até o fim de seu mandado, em 1936, articulou o Estado e a sociedade dentro de uma perspectiva liberal, em um país que se encontrava em fase de reconstrução, após uma guerra que lhe custara vidas e parte de seu território, dentro de uma conjuntura internacional de implantação do liberalismo como doutrina política, e de consolidação da fase industrial do capitalismo. Esteve dividido em diversas facções, e estas contribuíram para aumentar a fragilidade política do país, devido à ligação do partido com o governo, e uma constante troca de presidentes, que não conseguiam concluir o próprio mandato e, assim, realizar seus planos de governo. A preocupação fundamental desse grande número de presidentes foi com as finanças do Estado, com a idéia de que, ao sanear a moeda e o meio circulante, resolveriam os problemas prementes do país. Em uma perspectiva reformista, o partido conseguiu operar de forma racional a economia do país, mas deixou em segundo plano as questões sociais. Durante sua permanência, o Paraguai continuou contando com apenas um partido na oposição, e os grupos de pressão política foram desarticulados, configurando uma sociedade que ficou marginalizada da política empreendida pelo partido. / The Paraguayan Liberal Party was founded in 1887, but since 1870 it tried to articulate as political group with the purpose of arriving to the power, what would come to happen in 1904. From that date to the end of its mandate in 1936, it articulated the State and the society in a liberal perspective, in a country that was in a reconstruction phase, after a war that had cost it lives and part of its territory, inside of an international conjuncture of implementation of liberalism as political doctrine, and of consolidation of the industrial phase of the capitalism. The party was divided in several factions, and this contributed to increase the political fragility of the country, due to the connection of the party with the government, and a constant change of presidents, that didn't get to conclude its own mandate, thus accomplishing its government plans. The fundamental concern of that great number of presidents was with the finances of the State, with the idea that with sound money and circulating medium they would solve the main problems. From a reformist perspective, they achieved to operate in a rational way the economy of the country, but left in second plan the social subjects. During the permanence of the Liberals, Paraguay remained with just a party in the opposition, and the groups of political pressure were disjointed, configuring a society that was apart from the politics developed by the party.

Orientador: Paulo Henrique Martinez / Resumo: O Partido Liberal paraguaio foi fundado em 1887, mas desde 1870 tentava se articular como grupo político, com a finalidade de chegar ao poder, o que viria a acontecer em 1904. Dessa data até o fim de seu mandado, em 1936, articulou o Estado e a sociedade dentro de uma perspectiva liberal, em um país que se encontrava em fase de reconstrução, após uma guerra que lhe custara vidas e parte de seu território, dentro de uma conjuntura internacional de implantação do liberalismo como doutrina política, e de consolidação da fase industrial do capitalismo. Esteve dividido em diversas facções, e estas contribuíram para aumentar a fragilidade política do país, devido à ligação do partido com o governo, e uma constante troca de presidentes, que não conseguiam concluir o próprio mandato e, assim, realizar seus planos de governo. A preocupação fundamental desse grande número de presidentes foi com as finanças do Estado, com a idéia de que, ao sanear a moeda e o meio circulante, resolveriam os problemas prementes do país. Em uma perspectiva reformista, o partido conseguiu operar de forma racional a economia do país, mas deixou em segundo plano as questões sociais. Durante sua permanência, o Paraguai continuou contando com apenas um partido na oposição, e os grupos de pressão política foram desarticulados, configurando uma sociedade que ficou marginalizada da política empreendida pelo partido. / Abstract: The Paraguayan Liberal Party was founded in 1887, but since 1870 it tried to articulate as political group with the purpose of arriving to the power, what would come to happen in 1904. From that date to the end of its mandate in 1936, it articulated the State and the society in a liberal perspective, in a country that was in a reconstruction phase, after a war that had cost it lives and part of its territory, inside of an international conjuncture of implementation of liberalism as political doctrine, and of consolidation of the industrial phase of the capitalism. The party was divided in several factions, and this contributed to increase the political fragility of the country, due to the connection of the party with the government, and a constant change of presidents, that didn't get to conclude its own mandate, thus accomplishing its government plans. The fundamental concern of that great number of presidents was with the finances of the State, with the idea that with sound money and circulating medium they would solve the main problems. From a reformist perspective, they achieved to operate in a rational way the economy of the country, but left in second plan the social subjects. During the permanence of the Liberals, Paraguay remained with just a party in the opposition, and the groups of political pressure were disjointed, configuring a society that was apart from the politics developed by the party. / Doutor

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between state and civil society. The last decades there has been major changes across state, market and civil society. During these changes, civil society has become an important part of the welfare service. In this study an idea-driven public partnership (IOP) in Malmö is examine. My theoretical starting point is Gramsci’s concept of hegemony, integral state, consent-coercion and Jonathan Davies concept of creeping managerialism. Using interviews and document studies I am able to deepen the understanding of state-civil society relationships. The result of the analysis shows that the case study is an example of when civil society is compliant to the hegemonic order. This can be understood on the basis that civil society is also part of the hegemonic order. The strong actors in civil society, together with the state and capital, are all part of the historical bloc that governs society. Lastly, the study indicates managerialism in the partnership.

Doctor Theologiae - DTh / Reconstruction theology is widely regarded as one of the most influential approaches to contemporary African Christian theology - alongside others such as inculturation theology, liberation theology, African women's theology, evangelical theology and Pentecostal theology. In this thesis I offer a critical assessment of one of the main exponents of such reconstruction theology, namely the Kenyan theologian Jesse Mugambi. I explore the question of how his position on the notion of reconstruction should be understood. One point of entry into understanding Mugambi's views on reconstruction is to explore his position on the relationship between the church and the coming reign of God. In the history of Christianity this relationship has been understood in widely divergent ways. The task of this thesis will therefore be to examine, position, analyse and assess Mugambi's particular view in this regard. This will be done on the basis of a close reading of Mugambi's publications such as African Christian Theology: an Introduction (1989), From Liberation to Reconstruction: African Christian Theology after the Cold War (1995), Christian Theology and Social Reconstruction (2003), and numerous chapters in publications by African theologians.

LD2668 .T4 1947 O9 / Master of Science

Political success in semi-democratic countries has two aspects: shifting the balance of power in one’s favor and maintaining it. This thesis seeks to examine how the AKP has succeeded in shifting the balance of power in its favor while its predecessor the Welfare Party did not. Focusing on electoral success, existing research primarily lists center-periphery conflict, moderation, class struggle, party organization, and failures of others as the main determinants. Yet the significance of reining in the power of the Kemalist state structure has been mostly disregarded. Therefore, with a comparison of the AKP (2002-2007) and the Welfare Party (1996-1997) governments, this study tests one assertion using most-similar systems research design that in semi-democratic political settings with strong authoritarian actors, political parties that build broad coalitions via group specific policy promises will be more likely to shift the balance of power in favor of themselves than actors that lack such connections.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:19:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MariaAMS.pdf: 1392828 bytes, checksum: 7f37e90874f00b924c27a6f0e1bb3c74 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-11-30 / State intervention generally demands the purchase or rental of goods and services, and such acquisitions are subject to a number of indispensable legal frameworks. In the Brazilian State, Law 8.666 of 21 June 1993 and further norms regulate the necessity of a formal process, usually licitation. Given the importance of this subject to public and private spheres, one of the prerequisites of these formal contracting rules is the openness of public acts, and society s knowledge and accompaniment. The objective of this study is to investigate society s participation in public contracting, with the aim of debating theories surrounding the state/society relationship proposed by public political thought and authors in relation to legal aspects involving licitations. The principal question of this research is: despite the possibility of society s participation being predicted in the legal frameworks which orientate licitations, why is this social control not carried out? Why does it only occupy a secondary position to both individual and collective agents? In order to test some of this study s hypotheses, field research was carried out in the Coqueiral community in Aracaju, Sergipe, in relation to public acquisitions of goods and services during the period of May to September 2009. Research involved observation visits and guided interviews with the relevant community and public sector representatives. This project s hypotheses were confirmed, as this social control is not apparent, even in areas where popular participation is a strong component in asserting ones local rights, like in the Coqueiral community. / As interven??es que se efetivam atrav?s do Estado, de modo geral, exigem a compra ou a loca??o de bens e servi?os, e essas aquisi??es est?o condicionadas a marcos legais indispens?veis. Para isso, no Estado brasileiro, a Lei 8666, de 21 de junho de 1993 e outras normas regulam a necessidade de um procedimento formal, em regra, a licita??o. Haja vista a import?ncia do assunto para as esferas p?blicas e privadas, essas regras formais de contrata??o t?m como um dos pressupostos a transpar?ncia dos atos p?blicos, o conhecimento e o acompanhamento atrav?s da sociedade. Este trabalho de disserta??o tem como objetivo investigar a participa??o da sociedade nas contrata??es p?blicas e para este prop?sito dialoga com te?ricos da rela??o estado/sociedade, estudiosos de pol?ticas p?blicas e autores voltados aos aspectos jur?dicos relacionados ?s licita??es. A quest?o central desta pesquisa ? que, apesar da possibilidade de participa??o da sociedade estar prevista nos marcos legais que orientam as licita??es, por que esse controle social n?o se efetiva? Por que ocupa apenas uma posi??o secund?ria junto aos agentes individuais e coletivos? Para testar algumas hip?teses da pesquisa foi realizado um trabalho emp?rico na Comunidade Coqueiral, em Aracaju/SE, relativo ?s aquisi??es p?blicas de bens e servi?os durante o per?odo de maio a setembro de 2009, fazendo visitas de observa??o, fazendo entrevistas com roteiro junto a membros da referida comunidade e representantes do setor p?blico. As hip?teses do trabalho se confirmaram, pois esse controle social n?o vem se efetivando, mesmo em espa?os onde a participa??o popular ? um componente forte da cidadania local, como ocorre na Comunidade Coqueiral.