Civil Society, Conflict and Violence: Insights from the CIVICUS Civil Society Index Project

Description

This book looks at the role that civil society organizations play in dealing with conflict and violence. The authors argue that in most of the prevalent conceptualizations the conflict dimension of civil society is either downplayed or inadequately addressed. They contend that the ability to deal with conflict is at the heart of organized civil society; in the political process, one of civil society's key functions is to express and mediate between different interests, thus contributing to political decision-making. The chapters draw on detailed, empirical data from the CIVICUS Civil Society Index - a unique comparative data-set drawn from 25 countries, which has not previously been made publicly available. It examines the different ways violence has been manifested in civil societies, the meaning of violent protest and the impact of security legislation that might hinder the mediating efforts of civil society. The book offers a sophisticated comparison between conflict and post-conflict countries and an analysis of the role of civil society in conflict resolution, reconciliation and transitional justice. Cover Half-Title Title Page Copyright Page Contents List of Tables and Figures About the Authors and Editors About CIVICUS Series Introduction Foreword Acknowledgements 1 Civil Society, Conflict and Violence: An Introduction Introduction Defining civil society for comparative research Civil society and its relation to conflict and violence Potential roles of civil society in situations of conflict The impact of armed conflict and violence on civil society Organization of this volume References 2 Measuring Civil Society Globally with the CSI Introduction The CSI approach to measuring civil society Data structure of the CSI The implementation of the CSI Data collection methods Population Survey Organizational Survey External Perceptions Survey Other data sources Dissemination of results Methodological issues Conclusions References 3 Exploring Civil Society in Conflict and Post-Conflict Countries: A Continuum to Peace Introduction Defining conflict Civil society, conflict and post-conflict society Classifying countries along the conflict continuum Comparing civil society in conflict and post-conflict countries: the CSI dimensions Civic Engagement Level of Organization Practice of Values Perception of Impact External Environment Conclusion References 4 An Exploratory Analysis of Civil Society and Transitional Justice Introduction Transitional justice mechanisms and civil society Data and methodology Transitional justice choices of CSI sample Exploring CSI data for transitional countries Characteristics of CSOs and human rights organizations Analysis and findings Conclusion References 5 Civil Society, Conflict Resolution and Post-conflict Reconstruction in Kosovo and Liberia Introduction The role of civil society in different conflict situations Two armed conflicts The conflict in Kosovo (1998–1999) The conflict in Liberia (1989–1996 and 1999–2003) Comparing the conflicts Civil society and conflict in Kosovo and Liberia Civil society and the defence of human rights Civil society and service delivery during conflict Civil society and peacebuilding Civil society and post-conflict reconstruction in Kosovo and Liberia Reconstruction in Kosovo Reconstruction in Liberia Post-conflict civil society An assessment of the state of civil society in Kosovo and Liberia using data from CSI indicators Civil society responsiveness: Internal and external perceptions Social impact: Internal and external perceptions Policy impact Conclusion References 6 The Law, Security and Civil Society Freedoms Introduction Overview of recent trends Universal legal standards for the protection of civil society space External environment for civil society – law as a tool to restrict civil society space Conclusions and recommendations References 7 Violence in Civil Society: Insights from the CSI Databases Introduction Concepts and categories Collective violence of civil society actors The CSI Violence in civil society Three categories of violence Understanding violence in civil society Conclusion References 8 Conclusion Introduction What can we say? What have we learned? What questions do these chapters leave open? Other issues to explore with the CSI data Appendix 1: List of countries and regions that produced outputs from different CSI phases (including expected outputs from 2008–2011 phase) Reference Appendix 2: Sample sizes per country Appendix 3: CSI International Indicator Database: dimensions, sub-dimensions, indicators, sources and description Appendix 4: CSI International Indicator Database: overview of the scores for main dimensions and sub-dimensions Appendix 5: List of available Analytical Country Reports (ACRs) from CSI full phase 2 (2008–2011) and African regional phase (2008–2011) Notes Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Z