scholarly journals Institutional Innovations and Their Challenges in the Green Climate Fund: Country Ownership, Civil Society Participation and Private Sector Engagement

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 8827
Author(s):  
Thomas Kalinowski
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
International Organization ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Civil Society Participation ◽  
Green Climate Fund ◽  
Institutional Innovations

This article investigates the institutional innovations within the Green Climate Fund (GCF), a new international organization that finances climate mitigation and adaptation in developing countries. In particular, donor–recipient parity in decision making, civil society participation and private sector involvement are explored. The aim of this study is to lay the institutional groundwork for a larger study that will be analyzing the effect of these institutional innovations on the design and result of the fund’s projects. An exploratory qualitative case study approach is used that includes the review of the secondary literature, official sources from the GCF, participant observation and semi-structured interviews. This article concludes that the GCF indeed implemented important institutional innovations that are unique for a major international organization. At the same time, this article reveals that these innovations have created some important challenges for the functioning of the fund. For example, donor–recipient parity, in combination with consensus orientation, initially led to gridlock. It is also difficult for the GCF to balance the goal of transparency and civil society participation with the need for secrecy of private contracts and a speedy process demanded by the private sector.

scholarly journals Reforming WTO-Civil Society Engagement

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 427-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
ERIN HANNAH ◽  
JAMES SCOTT ◽  
RORDEN WILKINSON
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Dominant Mode ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
International Organization ◽  
Trade Negotiations ◽  
Marginalized Communities ◽  
Civil Society Participation ◽  
Fit For Purpose

AbstractCivil society organizations are often seen as playing a crucial role in helping to mitigate the exclusion of weaker states, giving voice to marginalized communities, and raising environmental and developmental concerns within the trade system. The politicization and demystification of the global trade agenda by civil society also opens up space for a more diverse set of actors to influence trade negotiations. This article examines the evolution of the WTO secretariat's engagement with civil society within this context and argues that the dominant mode of engagement, as manifest in WTO Public Forums and civil society participation in ministerial conferences, is no longer fit for purpose. Rather it reflects an outmoded strategy that once served to underscore the existence and value of the WTO as an international organization and works to neutralize political contestation and publicly promote the benefits of free trade. It is now in need of reform.

scholarly journals The V in VGI: Citizens or Civic Data Sources

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suthee Sangiambut ◽  
Renee Sieber
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Civic Participation ◽  
Data Use ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Democratic Participation ◽  
Structured Interviews

Volunteered geographic information (VGI), delivered via mobile and web apps, offers new potentials for civic engagement. If framed in the context of open, transparent and accountable governance then presumably VGI should advance dialogue and consultation between citizen and government. If governments perceive citizens as consumers of services then arguably such democratic intent elide when municipalities use VGI. Our empirical research shows how assumptions embedded in VGI drive the interaction between citizens and government. We created a typology that operationalises VGI as a potential act of citizenship and an instance of consumption. We then selected civic apps from Canadian cities that appeared to invoke these VGI types. We conducted interviews with developers of the apps; they were from government, private sector, and civil society. Results from qualitative semi-structured interviews indicate a blurring of consumer and citizen-centric orientations among respondents, which depended on motivations for data use, engagement and communication objectives, and sector of the respondent. Citizen engagement, an analogue for citizenship, was interpreted multiple ways. Overall, we found that government and developers may increase choice by creating consumer-friendly apps but this does not ensure VGI offers an act of civic participation. The burden is placed on the contributor to make it so. Apps and VGI could potentially further a data-driven and neoliberal government. Planners should be mindful of the dominance of a consumer-centric view even as they assume VGI invariably improves democratic participation.

Introductory: Civil Society, Participation, and Religion1

Human Affairs ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Jana Plichtová
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Civil Society Participation

Introductory: Civil Society, Participation, and Religion

Peregrinação Acadêmica: A mulher Romeira do Bom Jesus da Lapa

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Célia Coelho Gomes da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Gender Identity ◽  
Social Reproduction ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Female Gender ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The West ◽  
Patriarchal Family ◽  
The Family ◽  
West Part

This work is the result of the doctoral thesis entitled Pilgrimage of Bom Jesus da Lapa: Social Reproduction of the Family and Female Gender Identity, specifically the second chapter that talks about women in the Pilgrimage of Bom Jesus da Lapa, emphasizing gender relations, analyzing the location of the pilgrimage as a social reproduction of the patriarchal family and female gender identity. The research scenario is the Bom Jesus da Lapa Pilgrimage, which has been held for 329 years, in that city, located in the West part of Bahia. The research participants are pilgrim women who are in the age group between 50 and 70 years old and have participated, for more than five consecutive years in the Bom Jesus da Lapa Pilgrimage, belonging to five Brazilian states (Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Espírito Santo and Goiás) that register a higher frequency of attendance at this religious event. We used bibliographic, qualitative, field and documentary research and data collection as our methodology; we applied participant observation and semi-structured interviews as a technique. We concluded that the Bom Jesus da Lapa Pilgrimage is a location for family social reproduction and the female gender identity, observing a contrast in the resignification of the role and in the profile of the pilgrim women from Bom Jesus da Lapa, alternating between permanence and the transformation of gender identity coming from patriarchy.

TOURISM MOBILITY AT THE SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES RIO 2016

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Cabral ◽  
Carolin Lusby ◽  
Ricardo Uvinha
Keyword(s):  
Olympic Games ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Bus Rapid Transit ◽  
Rapid Transit ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Tourist Attractions ◽  
Official Sources ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The City

Sports Tourism as a segment is growing exponentially in Brazil. The sports mega-events that occurred in the period from 2007 to 2016 helped strengthen this sector significantly. This article examined tourism mobility during the Summer Olympic Games Rio 2016, hosted by the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This study expands the understanding of the relationship between tourism and city infrastructure, therefore being relevant to academics, professionals of the area and to the whole society due to its multidisciplinary field. The existence of a relationship between means of transportation and the Olympic regions as well as tourist attractions for a possible legacy was observed. Data were collected from official sources, field research and through participant-observation and semi structured interviews. Data were coded and analyzed. The results indicate that the city was overall successful in its execution of sufficient mobility. New means of transportation were added and others updated. BRT's (Bus Rapid Transit) were the main use of mass transport to Olympic sites. However, a lack of public transport access was observed for the touristic sites.

Rescuing Migrants in the Central Mediterranean: The Emergence of a New Civil Humanitarianism at the Maritime Border

2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 436-455
Author(s):  
Marta Esperti
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Research Methodology ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
International Organization ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Meanings ◽  
Humanitarian Space ◽  
First Arrival

The Central Mediterranean is the most deadly body of water in the Mediterranean Sea with at least 15,062 fatalities recorded by International Organization of Migration between 2014 and 2018. This article aims at highlighting the rise of a variety of new civil society actors engaged in the rescue of people undertaking dangerous journeys across the sea in the attempt of reaching the southern European shores. The peculiarity of the humanitarian space at sea and its political relevance are pointed out to illustrate the unfolding of the maritime border management on the Central Mediterranean route and its relation with the activity of the civil society rescue vessels. The theoretical aspiration of the article is to question the role of a proactive civil humanitarianism at sea, discussing the emergence of different political and social meanings around humanitarianism at the EU’s southern maritime border. In recent years, the increasing presence of new citizens-based organizations at sea challenges the nexus between humanitarian and emergency approaches adopted to implement security-oriented policies. This essay draws on the findings of a broader comparative work on a variety of civil society actors engaged in the search and rescue operations on the maritime route between Libya and Europe, focusing in particular on Italy as country of first arrival. The fieldwork covers a period of time going between 2016 and 2018. The research methodology is built on a multisited ethnography, the conduct of semidirective and informal interviews with both state and nonstate actors, and the analysis of various reports unraveling the social and political tensions around rescue at sea on the Central Mediterranean route.

Japan Meets the Sharing Economy: Contending Frames

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas G ALTURA ◽  
Yuki HASHIMOTO ◽  
Sanford M JACOBY ◽  
Kaoru KANAI ◽  
Kazuro SAGUCHI
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
The World ◽  
Framing Processes ◽  
Regulatory Institutions

Abstract The ‘sharing economy’ epitomized by Airbnb and Uber has challenged business, labor, and regulatory institutions throughout the world. The arrival of Airbnb and Uber in Japan provided an opportunity for Prime Minister Abe’s administration to demonstrate its commitment to deregulation. Both platform companies garnered support from powerful governmental and industry actors who framed the sharing economy as a solution to various economic and social problems. However, they met resistance from actors elsewhere in government, the private sector, and civil society, who constructed competing frames. Unlike studies that compare national responses to the sharing economy, we contrast the different experiences and fates of Airbnb and Uber within a single country. Doing so highlights actors, framing processes, and within-country heterogeneity. The study reveals the limits of overly institutionalized understandings of Japanese political economy. It also contributes to current debates concerning Prime Minister Abe’s efforts at implementing deregulation during the 2010s.

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