Civil Society, Everyday Life and the Possibilities for Development Studies

Civil society is one of the most contentious terms in political thought. There is considerable, and highly significant, difference between academic debate about the meaning of ‘civil society’ and the way the term is mobilized in international development discourse. In particular, narratives of civil society in international development are often dominated by reference to organizational descriptions and measurability. But I would like to suggest here that the term should be reclaimed as a way of giving meaning to the stories of the everyday lives of the people who create, shape and embody civil society. Used in this way, the idea of civil society can be understood as intersecting emotions, discourses and practices and can add to the body of scholarly work that nurtures and values everyday life as a lens through which to view wider social processes. Paying attention to the everyday life of civil society may have implications for that way the civil society is engaged with academically, and also has the potential to refresh how civil society is thought about in development practice

A Qualitative Study Examining the Impact of the Probation Experience for Probationers with Mental Illness

This qualitative research study was designed to investigate the probation experiences of probationers with mental illness (PMIs). The institutional and structural make-up of probation and the potential for stigma to impact and/or overshadow the experiences of probationers—and specifically their interactions with probation officers (POs)—resulted in the development of three research aims: (1) to elucidate the lived experiences of PMIs within the context of a variety of services available to them both in the criminal justice system and within the wider community; (2) to focus on the impact of the probation experience on PMIs, and; (3) to understand if and how stigma played a role in the probationary practices of POs. This inquiry employed data from semi-structured interviews and observations of PO-PMI dyads in a county-based probation system to give voice to probationers with mental illness, who are among the most marginalized and stigmatized groups in contemporary American society. In providing PMIs with the opportunity to relate their probationary experiences, they also elucidated the complex role of probation officers as enforcer, mentor, ally, and hero. Results indicated that PMIs valued the efforts of their POs in facilitating a variety of developmental tasks and opportunities, and were largely compliant in the face of probation-mandated requirements. Findings from this investigation have broad implications in the fields of criminal justice and mental health counseling