A vibrant civil society enhances solidarity, social justice, and peace. However, opportunities to act for social change within civil societies are limited in many ways. Solidarity networks function in a way that might counter the conventional conceptualizations of civil society in Western scholarship.

Jointly organized by the International Institute of Social Studies and the European Association of Development Research and Training Institute (EADI)Opens external, this webinar explores elaboration of local conceptualizations of civil society and development with focus on authoritarian, conflict affected and fragile contexts characterized by lack or diminishing of democratic state-civil society relationships.

Through localized and contextualized notions of civil society and civic-driven change the panel seeks to understand the dynamics of emergence of agency for change in such non-democratic settings, exercised by both established organizations and people’s everyday organizing.

In this webinar, accepted papers for the panel HP122- Rethinking civil society in promoting solidarity and social change in constrained settingsOpens external will be presented and discussed.

Programme: 

Opening with the coordinators: Kees Biekart, Tiina Kontinen, Marianne Millstein

 1. Local-Global Interactions – Civil Society between partnership and power imbalance: Samantha Ruppel, Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany

 2. Civil Society And Electoral Reforms Under Hegemonic Electoral Authoritarianism. Backdoor Exit, Weak Voice And Enforced Loyalty In Uganda: Anders Sjögren, Uppsala University, Sweden

3. Space(s) for Peace in Mitrovica, Kosovo: Women’s Voices for Change: Cintia Silva Huxter, Loughborough University, United Kingdom

Break

 4. Social Enterprises to Promote Solidarity and Social Change in Palestine: Maria Sassi, Ayesha Nazir, University of Pavia, Italy

5. Rethinking Civil Society – Global Commodity Traders (GCTs), Sustainable Development and the “New Brazilian Soya Highway”: Lee Jonathan Pegler (1), Isis Taboas (2), Katiuscia Moreno Galhera (3) – 1: International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Netherlands, The; 2: University of Brasilia; 3: Federal University of Grande Dourados