Sustaining Civil Society

This publication focuses on the challenges faced by civil society to remain sustainable in response to major changes in the global political, economic and social environment. Academics and practitioners from all over the world have contributed original articles, practical notes and viewpoints which critically examine the ways in which civil society organisations are affected by and are responding to political and financial dynamics. These include reductions in traditional external aid for civil society activities, but also the growth of new forms of funding through social enterprise, philanthropy, fundraising and contractual relationships with national government. The operating environment for civil society is a central theme, with authors exploring the legitimacy and credibility of different types of civil society organisation, as well as the effects of legislative and regulatory restrictions on their sustainability. The contributions finally examine new opportunities for civil society and the prospects for organisations to emerge that are less dependent on foreign aid funding, that are more embedded in local communities, and that can bring about lasting and sustained social and economic change. This book was originally published as a special issue of Development in Practice.

“South America is not the poorest continent in the world, but it may very well be the most unjust.” This statement by Ricardo Lagos, then president of Chile, at the Summit of the Americas in January 2004 captures nicely the dilemma that faces Latin American countries in the wake of the transition to democracy that swept across the continent in the last two decades of the twentieth century. While political rights are now available to citizens at unprecedented levels, social and economic rights lag far behind, and the fledgling democracies struggle with long legacies of poverty, inequality, and corruption. Key to understanding what is happening in Latin America today is the relationship between the state and civil society. In this ambitious book, Philip Oxhorn sets forth a theory of civil society adequate for explaining current developments in a way that such controversial neoconservative theories as Francis Fukuyama’s liberal triumphalism or Samuel Huntington’s “clash of civilizations” cannot. Inspired by the rich political sociology of an earlier era and the classic work of T. H. Marshall on citizenship, Oxhorn studies the process by which social groups are incorporated, or not, into national socioeconomic and political development through an approach that focuses on the “social construction of citizenship.”

The book aims to explore South Asian third sector – the nonprofit organizations as provider of social services. The book defines social welfare and describe its relationship to social service programmes and individual well-being; understands the social policy development from the problem identification to policy implementation; describes the range of organization of social service agencies that are responsible for providing social welfare programmes; explores the various roles that professional and non- professional helpers provide in the delivery of social welfare and their influence in promoting change in policy development; and understands the umbrella concept of Child welfare, welfare of people with disability and elderly welfare in welfare policy.

The world's population is rapidly urbanizing but the affluence and development often associated with cities are far from equitably or sustainably distributed. Where it was once taken for granted that responsibility for urban development lay with the state, increasingly the emphasis has shifted to market-driven and public-private sector initiatives, which can marginalize the intended beneficiaries - the urban poor - from decision making and implementation. This text outlines the essential conditions for effective urban planning and management by placing bottom-up community initiatives at the heart of the push for equitable and sustainable development in cities. Crucially, the state must engage with both the market and civil society in pursuit of sustainable cities. Presenting a wide-ranging selection of case studies in rapidly urbanizing and transitional countries, from the poorest parts of Africa and Asia to the relatively developed United Kingdom, the authors describe and analyze innovations in how globally disadvantaged urban communities can be engaged in improving their living environments.

Sustainability cannot be achieved without good governance. The Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 stated that governance and sustainable development are intimately tied together and the future role and architecture of institutions, from local to international levels, will be crucial determinants to whether future policies and programmes for sustainable development will succeed. But these are changing times. With growing tensions over both globalization and regionalization, traditional systems of regulation are being subjected to growing pressure for reform. While states will continue to play a significant, if changed, role in the future, the importance of players from business and civil society is increasing. Sustainable development requires this change. Such an intra- and intergenerational concept cannot be achieved with a top-down approach, but rather needs the participation of all. In fact, the governance of sustainable development requires the exploration of new forms of both social co-operation and confrontation. By doing so, the different levels (global and local), players (state, company and civil society), control structures (hierarchy, market and public-private) and fields of action need to be taken into consideration.Governance and Sustainability examines the possibilities of integrating the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainable development within the framework of governance processes and how that might steer societies towards sustainability. It takes a close look at the key actors, their agendas and methods, forms of organization, problems and limits, as well as real-life examples for governance in different areas of society at the regional, national and international level. It is especially interested in exploring the nature of changes in the context of governance; the role of actors in such processes; and analysing how different forms of societal learning can improve governance processes. It concludes that this is a continuous process, characterized by conflicts and learning processes necessary to heighten both awareness of the complexity of the social and environmental problems faced and the prospects of implementing successful solutions. Based on a major conference hosted to assess the issue of governance post-Johannesburg, the book includes innovative insights from some of the leading thinkers in both sustainable development and governance from academia, business, multilateral organizations and NGOs. It provides a unique perspective on two of the key societal problems facing the world today.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is clear on the need to engage civil society organisations (CSOs) in implementing and monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals. With their capacity to bring the voices of those on the frontlines of poverty, inequality and vulnerability into development processes, CSOs can help to ensure no one is left behind. In order to work to their maximum potential, CSOs need members of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) to provide and promote enabling environments.