Framing the changing face of citizen action

When spring became summer, protests even landed in the UK. The British government responded predictably and was quick to frame  these protests acts of senseless violence and unnecessary destruction of  community property. Protestors were being portrayed as senseless  criminals, their acts clear examples of moral decline, ample rationale  for tighter security and heavy punishments. Yet, even the best of spin has not succeeded in smothering critical analyses suggesting that...

Revisiting the end of civil society building?

The synthesis paper of Ria Brouwers of the Institute of Social Studies: “When ‘civics’ go ‘governance’, on the role and relevance of civic organisations in the policy arena in Sub-Sahara Africa”, looks at the political role played by civic organisation and tries to understand what happens when ‘civics’ go ‘governance’. It is a sound retrospective paper that deals with issues of the rise of civil society, the external force behind it, and the role that NGOs play in society and power imbalance...

Post-conflict Participation

This project delves into the possibilities for civil society participation in post-conflict settings. It focuses on forms of civic engagement and mechanisms that facilitate interactions between local level state institutions and social actors in the specific context of a post-conflict situation. It concentrates on how violent conflict has affected different forms of social organisation. It will single out the crucial social-political factors for engagement, and the characteristics of state in...

Civic driven change in West Asia

What can an organisation like Hivos do in repressive regimes like Iran and Syria? Does Civic Driven Change (CDC) offer opportunities or new insights for developing strategies in those countries? These are the questions Maaike van Adrichem poses in her research paper on Hivos programme in Syria and Iran: From civil society building to civic driven change?

Claiming Citizenship: rights, participation and responsibility

On the 21st of March, the Institute of Social Studies, Hivos and ICCO will host prof. John Gaventa and dr. Rosemary McGee for a presentation and discussion of the most recent findings in the ZED book series on Claiming Citizenship.