Transnational Civil Society In Asia

This edited volume addresses how transnational interactions among civil society actors in Asia and its sub-regions are helping to strengthen common democratic values and transform dominant processes of policymaking and corporate capitalism in the region. The contributors conceive of transnational civil society networks as constructive vehicles for both informing and persuading governments and businesses to adopt, modify, or abandon certain policies or positions. This volume investigates the role of such networks through a range of interdisciplinary approaches, bringing together case studies on Asian transnationalism from South, Southeast, and Northeast Asia across four key themes: local transformations and connections, diaspora politics, cross-regional initiatives and networks, and global actors and influences. Chapters demonstrate how transnational civil society is connecting people in local communities across Asia, in parallel to ongoing tensions between nation-states and civil society. By highlighting the grassroots regionalization emerging from ever-intensifying information exchange between civil society actors across borders – as well as concrete transnational initiatives uniting actors across Asia – the volume advances the intellectual mandate of redefining ‘Asia’ as a dynamic and interconnected formation. Transnational Civil Society in Asia will appeal to students and scholars of international relations, politics and Asian studies more broadly.

From the landmines campaign to the Seattle protests against the WTO, to the World Commission on Dams, transnational networks of civil society groups are seizing an ever-greater voice in how governments and corporations are managed. This volume addresses the issues raised by this change.

Academics and policy makers have grown increasingly interested in the ways that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) may encourage better governance, democratic politics, and perhaps ultimately a global civil society. In Civil Life, Globalization and Political Change in Asia, Robert Weller has brought together an international group of experts on the subject, whose chapters address these questions through a series of extensive case studies from East and Southeast Asia including Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam.

This book provides new perspectives on transnational activism with a specific regional focus on Asia. By offering an innovative approach, its theoretical chapters and empirical case studies examine macro as well as micro aspects of power and how cross-border activities of civil society groups are related to problems of democracy.

This book discusses the penetration, growth and operation of transnational civil society (TCS) in China. It explores impacts on the incremental development of China's political pluralism, mainly through exploring the influences of the leading TCS actors on the country's bottom-up and self-governing activist NGOs that have sprung up spontaneously, in terms of capacities, strategies, leadership and political outlook, as a result of complex interactions between the two sectors.

2. A NEW ASIAN DRAMA

This book explores the theoretical and empirical relationship between democracy and governance in the Asia-Pacific region. Examining a variety of country cases and themes addressing the theoretical tension between governance and democracy, it illuminates how this impacts political and civil societies across the region. Analysing the character, structure and current trajectories of polities in the Asia-Pacific, democratic or otherwise, this book demonstrates that the role of civil society, political society and governance has significantly differed in practice from what has been commonly assumed within the international community. The book includes both theoretical investigations tracing the modern development of the concepts of governance, development and democratization as well as regional and country-specific observations of major issues, presenting comprehensive country-level studies of China, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Fiji and the Solomon Islands. Presenting fascinating insight into non-democratic governance, civil society and the rule of law in illiberal contexts, Governance and Democracy in the Asia-Pacific will prove to be of great use to students and scholars of Asian politics and society, as well as international and comparative politics.

Notwithstanding Bangladesh’s recent success in both creating a market friendly structure of economic governance and holding periodic elections, its political system continues to be marked by clientelism, rampant corruption and widespread violence. The country faces the major challenges of fostering a culture of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law as the politics of mutual distrust have re-emerged with renewed strength into a dysfunctional political landscape. This volume examines the failure of liberal democracy to take root and asks, despite the presence of a vibrant civil society, why is Bangladesh still struggling to institutionalize democracy? Providing much needed analytical context to explore the theoretical and empirical dimensions of the role of civil society in the democracy and development of Bangladesh, the volume brings together well established international authors to explore key ideas and debates from a wide range of disciplines. Through this the contributors raise intriguing questions about the prospects for liberal democracy and social development in a Muslim majority country.