Democracy promotion and civil society

The annual Global Civil Society Yearbooks provide an indispensable guide to global civil society or civic participation and action around the world. This year, the Yearbook will focus on communicative power and democracy, investigating different forms of democracy promotion and communication with a view to understanding the relationship between communication, democracy and media. The Global Civil Society Yearbook remains the standard work on all aspects of contemporary global civil society for activists, practitioners, students and academics alike. It is essential reading for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the key actors, forms and manifestations of global civil society around the world today

Armenia’s election: the status quo wins at the expense of democracy

Armenia held elections on 2 April which saw the ruling Republican Party of Armenia win the largest share of the vote. Armine Ishkanian indicates that the result was highly disappointing for civil society groups and democracy activists in the country. The question now is whether these groups will succumb to frustration and despair, or whether they will begin the difficult and time-intensive work of building democracy from the bottom up

Self-determined citizens? A new wave of civic activism in Armenia

‘When people on the street approached us and asked, “What NGO are you from?” We replied, “We are not from any NGO. We are citizens of the Republic of Armenia."

Social movements, Brexit, and social policy

In this article, I examine the relationship between social movements, Brexit and social policy and consider how political and socio-economic developments since the 2008 financial crisis helped create a fertile ground for Brexit. I query the assumption that Brexit was simply a result of those left behind by globalisation and instead explore why and how actors from across the ideological spectrum supported Brexit and examine the sources of discontent which created the conditions from which Brexit emerged. To understand the relationship, role and impact of social movements and, more widely, civil society on social policy, I argue that it is important to critically examine how diverse actors within civil society are campaigning for the recognition of unmet needs and challenging systems of redistribution and the ways in which they interact and engage with governance institutions and policy processes

A revolution of values: freedom, responsibility, and courage in the Armenian Velvet Revolution

Mass protests in Armenia, which began in April and led to the resignation of Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan, have been dubbed a 'Velvet Revolution'. Armine Ishkanian explains that this revolution has been rooted in the values of Armenian society and its domestic, socio-economic and political realities, rather than geopolitics or foreign relations. But with events developing rapidly, it remains unclear where the country is headed next

Resisting neoliberalism? Movements against austerity and for democracy in Cairo, Athens and London

Drawing on interviews conducted with activists from Athens, Cairo and London in 2013, we examine activists’ understandings of, critiques of and concerns around neoliberal policies. We demonstrate that activists often imply, and sometimes explicitly formulate, a fundamental incompatibility between the current economic system and their conceptions of democracy, but also that ‘anti-neoliberal’ is a very inadequate label for describing their political positions and practices. We demonstrate how activists developed deeply interlinked critiques of both the political system and the economic policies that emanated from it. We maintain that at least as important as their discourses were their practices. We analyse how solidarity and self-help practices were perceived as political interventions, rather than acts of charity, through which activists confronted the state with its failure to provide basic services. </jats:p