Title: The changing
1The changing rules of engagement
cross-cultural and cross-national perspectives
- Dr Beatriz Cardona
- UWS Engagement
- University of Western Sydney
2civil society and civic engagement
- Civil society and civic engagement translate
differently in different settings (contesting the
tendency to make them universally applicable).
Roots of difference historical as well as
distinct theoretical concepts and philosophical
roots - Alexander Tocqueville (1805-1859) stressed the
role of these independent associations as civil
society He saw them as schools of democracy .
They should be built voluntarily at all levels of
society -promoting civic virtues - Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937) Marxist theoretical
angle he stressed the potential oppositional
role of civil society, separate from state and
market in which ideological hegemony is
contested. - Jurgen Habermas (1929) as a way for marginalized
groups to articulate their interests. - Emerging concepts such as self-expression and
actualization new encounters with politics
through IT channels
3Civil society in practice cross-national
differences
- US and Western Europe rich debate in the 1990s
linking social capital to democratic
participation and positive health and social
outcomes - Putnam has also highlighted the
decline in social capital. SUPPORTING - Latin America the concept of civil society
gained importance mainly in the fight against
military dictatorship in the 60s a Gramscian
understanding civil society as an agent for
political resistance and social justice
CONTESTING - Africa great diversity and strong emphasis on
post-colonial search for national identity and
reconciliation NATIONAL IDENTITY PROJECTS - Various forms of control and regulation of civil
society in different countries (ie. NGO Act 2002
in Tanzania jail sentences for Syrian human
rights NGOs linking funding to service delivery
at the expense of advocacy in Australia new
anti-terrorist laws in the US)
4The relationship between the state and civil
society
- Community participation, membership and
objectives are shaped by local forces different
public spaces for participation - Australia and US Neoliberalism and the Third
Sector in Australia Gramberg Bassett (2005)
argue that community engagement has been
constructed in such a way to reinforce neoliberal
agendas that emphasize greater individual agency
and communitys responsibility for local social
and economic problems. - Success requires a
pro-active civil society - - Mexico, Colombia, Brazil community organisations
articulating alternative visions, struggles for
reform, more confrontational. - Emerging forms of participation in civil society
5What does it mean to be civically engaged today?
And what does it mean to be a citizen?
- The transformation of how we engage and act in
society challenges how we perceive the concepts
of civic engagement and citizenship, their
content and expression. The introduction of new
information technologies, most notably in the
form of internet, has in turn reinvigorated these
discussions. we need to explore the impact
netizens are having on extending democratic
processes today. - Stephen Coleman lists some democratising
characteristics of the blogosphere including
bridge between the private, subjective sphere of
self-expression and the socially fragile civic
sphere in which publics can form and act access
to debate for traditionally unheard or
marginalised voices. (Coleman 2005a 277)
6Traditional versus emerging views of citizenship
- Obligation to participate in government centred
activities - Voting as the core democratic act
- Informed about issues and engaged with mass media
- Joins civil society organisations
- Diminished sense of government obligation higher
sense of individual purpose - Voting is less meaningful
- Greater emphasis on transnational and consumerism
activism - Favours loose networks of community action
reliance on information technologies (Bennet
2004)
7Youth engagement Competing views of young people
and civic life
- On one hand there is the view that younger
generations are disconnecting from conventional
politics and government
- At the same time there are signs of youth civic
engagement in non-government areas volunteer
work, consumer activism and strong involvement in
social causes. - Some even see civic engagement in online social
networking and entertainment communities
(blogging)
8Universities at the cross-roadsIt is no longer
clear what the place of the University is within
society nor what the exact nature of that society
is, and the changing institutional form of the
University is something that intellectuals cannot
afford to ignore (Readings 19962)
- Challenges and opportunities
- New models of engagement that take into account
- The complexity, diversity and constraints facing
civil society organisations - Design of models informed by local context rather
than global agendas and visions - Learn more about citizenship and communication
preferences and how to engage with them - Design better civic education programs that takes
into account how generational social identities
and political preferences are changing so we can
design more engaging civic education models - Rethink the relationship between the University
and society serve and strengthen society?
challenge and advocate? support collective
values? foster critical thinking?- micro and
macro issues?
9Taking the theory/praxis nexus on engagement
seriously
Sudanese Youth Conference UWS
International Film Festival