Globalizing Civic Engagement: Civil Society and Trans-National Action

’Informative and useful.’
Development and Change

Until recently, most civil society organizations (CSOs) operated at national or local levels. However, new global organizations and networks are increasingly emerging. This book examines what CSOs can achieve, and the barriers they face, when they break national boundaries and sectoral moulds and work with others in global networks. A series of case studies of CSO initiatives reveal how transnational action can yield impressive results in changing policies and public attitudes. The diverse range of CSOs studied includes consumer groups, trade unions, the anti-globalization protest movement, the World Social Forum, Jubilee 2000 and others. All reveal a remarkably similar array of practical challenges, from structure and leadership issues to governance dilemmas. The book offers practical guidance to those engaged with CSOs and contributes to academic enquiry about civil society.

John Clark is currently Project Director of the High-Level Panel on UN-Civil Society Relations. He is also a Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics and author of Democratizing Development (1991) and Worlds Apart: Civil Society and the Battle for Ethical Globalization.