Communications scholarship faces a convergent crisis. Research on networks includes the role of information networks in supporting social movements, networked civil society, the information society, and new forms of communication. But while communications literature utilizes a variety of approaches to describe the impact of networked communications, a dearth of technical expertise permeates scholarship. Despite the discourse on networks potentially bridging previously distinct disciplines, the lack of a fundamental understanding of communications networks and relationships between technical and socio-political networks remains a consistent gap. This thesis will investigate the extent that opposition to the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in Europe constitute a networked public sphere. Through studying the role of civl society and the networked public in the European ACTA debate, the horizontal and vertical dimensions of socio-political and communications technology networks are not only illuminated, but the importance of analyzing the mechanisms through which vertical hierarchies enclose the public sphere become abundantly clear. This research provides the foundation for an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the relationship between information technology and socio-political networks and offers lessons for information policy makers, communications scholars, and networked civil society within the context of European democracy.

This thesis aims to problematize the assumptions behind the glorification of civil society as a new and progressive actor in politics along with their political and ideological implications. It is argued that the assumptions behind the glorification of civil society are conceptually misleading and politically disabling. The portrayal of &ldquo / civil society&rdquo / or &ldquo / global civil society&rdquo / as a homogenous as well as inherently democratic and peaceful sphere that is opposed to an equally homogenous power-seeking state has emerged as a necessity for attributing emancipatory meanings to the concept. One of the most important implications of this conceptualization has been the taming of politics since the state, which is conventionally understood as the main site for political struggle, has apparently been devalued as a respectable political target to be fought over. Interestingly, the taming of politics through a glorified civil society has become a popular discourse shared and reproduced by both the New Right and certain sections of the Left. The thesis sheds light to the development of such a discourse at the global level as well as in Turkey within the context of the rise and spread of neoliberal globalization.

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.

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.

This thesis analyses whether the European Union acts as a trigger for Turkey&rsquo / s democratisation process within the pre-accession period. This study claims that although Turkish civil society has practically been characterised as weak and inactive, the impact of the European Union&rsquo / s politics of civil society on Turkish civil society organisations is a substantial contribution to democratic consolidation in Turkey, where the weakness of democracy has always been an obstacle for the country&rsquo / s integration to the Union. In accordance with this claim, three civil society organisations, which have been previously awarded European Union funded grant, were selected and a printed media screening study covering the period from the Helsinki Summit of 1999, when the European Commission took Turkey&rsquo / s membership application into consideration, to Turkish General Elections of 2011, was carried out. Through this study, the main purpose was to observe to what extent civil society organisations, having been financed under European Union funded grant schemes, provided contribution to Turkey&rsquo / s democratisation process.

This thesis examines the relationship between the state and civil society in Zimbabwe. The relationship between the state and civil society is discussed under the categories of the concepts democratisation, good governance and sustainable development. The nature of the relationship between the state and civil society in Africa is examined to set out parameters for state-civil society debate in Zimbabwe. The discussion of the relationship between the state and civil society in Zimbabwe is synthesised into three parts, the post-independence era, the post-1990s and the post-2000. From these discussions it is argued that the relationship between the state and civil society was peaceful in the first decade of independence and this was because the state maintained dominance and control over all sectors of civil society. However, the 1990s saw a collapse of peaceful relations between the state and civil society in Zimbabwe. The collapse of the peaceful relationship between the state and civil society came as a result of the country’s economic decline and the authoritarian practices in Zimbabwe, which saw the emergence of a confrontational civil society towards the state. In the early 2000s, it is observed that the state became repressive towards civil society through the introduction of repressive laws which include Access to Information and Privacy Act (AIIPA) and the Public Order and Security Act (POSA). For peaceful relations between the state and civil society to exist in a sustainable manner, the state must continuously promote and practice democracy and good governance. In addition, the state should play a pivotal role of enhancing sustainable development in a manner that meets the socio-economic realities of its population. / Thesis (M.A. (Political Studies))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2011

This thesis examines the relationship between the state and civil society in Zimbabwe. The relationship between the state and civil society is discussed under the categories of the concepts democratisation, good governance and sustainable development. The nature of the relationship between the state and civil society in Africa is examined to set out parameters for state-civil society debate in Zimbabwe. The discussion of the relationship between the state and civil society in Zimbabwe is synthesised into three parts, the post-independence era, the post-1990s and the post-2000. From these discussions it is argued that the relationship between the state and civil society was peaceful in the first decade of independence and this was because the state maintained dominance and control over all sectors of civil society. However, the 1990s saw a collapse of peaceful relations between the state and civil society in Zimbabwe. The collapse of the peaceful relationship between the state and civil society came as a result of the country’s economic decline and the authoritarian practices in Zimbabwe, which saw the emergence of a confrontational civil society towards the state. In the early 2000s, it is observed that the state became repressive towards civil society through the introduction of repressive laws which include Access to Information and Privacy Act (AIIPA) and the Public Order and Security Act (POSA). For peaceful relations between the state and civil society to exist in a sustainable manner, the state must continuously promote and practice democracy and good governance. In addition, the state should play a pivotal role of enhancing sustainable development in a manner that meets the socio-economic realities of its population. / Thesis (M.A. (Political Studies))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2011

Calls to ensure the attainment of sustainable development across the development spectrum in the world today need one to understand in depth the role played by all stakeholders. For a long time, Civil society organizations (CSOs) have contributed immensely to the realization of the social pillar i.e., social transformation initiatives, family building, cultural value upholding and respect for individual human rights,etc. of sustainable development through the inclusive engagement of all sections of society. A big part of their focus has been on youth following CSOs’ acknowledgment of youth as the leaders of tomorrow. This acknowledgment has also been actualized through CSO efforts such as empowering youth to participate in low-level democratic processes of their organizations and groups. This thesis paper attempts to deepen and expand on how Civil society activism has for a while now concentrated on building society with the approach of ensuring local ownership. The approach led to the inclusion of youth in the development interventions which for a long time now started paying off. The endless objective participation of youth in many social issues like the demand for social accountability today has a big contribution from the work of Civil society Organizations.I argue in the paper that with the increasing regression of democratic practices in the world, the most affected category of society is the youth and mainly those believing in being a part of contributing to social development based on their lived experiences as well as acquired knowledge.

This paper investigates the interplay between pernicious polarization, autonomy of civil society - here called civil society capture, and liberal democracy in Central and Eastern Europe from 2006 to 2020. In the absence of prior time-series data on pernicious polarization and civil society capture, this study built and analysed a dataset of these variables across the region, testing six hypotheses. The findings confirm that both pernicious polarization and civil society capture exhibited an increase during the study period across most CEE countries, the findings also confirm hypotheses linking polarization/civil society capture with democracy, revealing a negative correlation between these variables and liberal democracy. Moreover, a qualitative analysis conducted on four countries highlighted mechanisms through which polarization might contribute to democratic decline. Factors such as the depth of polarization, divisive rhetoric, and sociocultural divides emerged as crucial elements in potentially fuelling democratic backsliding.

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.