Routledge Civil Society in the Global South (Routledge Studies in Development and Society)

In recent years civil society has been seen as a key route for democracy promotion and solving development ‘problems’ in low-income countries. However, the very concept of civil society is deeply rooted in European traditions and values. In pursuing civil society reform in non-Western countries, many scholars along with well-meaning international agencies and donor organisations fail to account for non-Western values and historical experiences. Civil Society in the Global South seeks to redress this balance by offering diverse accounts of civil society from the global South, authored by scholars and researchers who are reflecting on their observations of civil society in their own countries. The countries studied in the volume range from across Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East to give a rich account of how countries from the global south conceptualise and construct civil society. The book demonstrates how local conditions are often unsuited to the ideal type of civil society as delineated in Western values, for instance in cases where numerous political, racial and ethnic sub-groups are ‘fighting’ for autonomy. By disentangling local contexts of countries from across the global South, this book demonstrates that it is important to view civil society through the lens of local conditions, rather than viewing it as something that needs to be ‘discovered’ or ‘manufactured’ in non-Western societies. Civil Society in the Global South will be particularly useful to high-level students and scholars within development studies, sociology, anthropology, social policy, politics, international relations and human geography. Review "Debates about the historical origins and character of civil society have become increasingly complex. The consequence is that empirical analyses of a wide variety of cases are required more than ever to develop plausible new generalisations about civil society and its prospects, especially amidst the contradictions arising from a neoliberalised world, which vary in their manifestations according to specific contexts. This is the important service that is provided by this important collection of essays. Together, they constitute a much-needed intervention into discussions that too often begin with wildly differing assumptions." ― Professor Vedi R. Hadiz, Director and Professor of Asian Studies, Asia Institute, University of Melbourne, Australia, and Author of Localising Power in Post-Authoritarian Indonesia About the Author Palash Kamruzzaman is a senior lecturer in politics and international development at the University of South Wales, UK.