What does global civil society look like? Where are the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ forces located, and how do they achieve their ends?

What does global civil society look like?  Where are the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ forces located, and how do they achieve their ends?

A global civil society is a nongovernment structure that has an effective influence on physical government in terms of social chagnes. Warkentin Craig, Mingst Karen mention in their essay of ‘International Institutions, the State, and Global Civil Society in the Age of the World Wide Web,’ Lipschutz’s arguement; “there is emerging a global civil society–that is, a parallel arrangement of political interaction, one that does not take anarchy or self-help as central organising principles.”

To answer what the global society looks like, I personally think that it depends on how you look at the society and what ways you think about it.

If you are a realist, or neo-realist; you will see the global civil society as a non-physical place which can be turned into a battlefield in a short time.

If you are a liberal, or neo-liberal; you will see the GCS as the collaborating society which gathers people to help each other. I am more of liberal, so I think the global civil society looks like connections among whom possess the same meanings or wills, and groups they organize can effectively influence the physical government itself. A great example would be the Lebanon case which was mentioned in Professor Reilly’s class, the Lebanon case which internet activists are interested is a protest formed by Lebanon woman who are married to foreign man and cannot pass their citizenships to their children. The foundation of the protest is important because they imform themselves via the social media networks, enforcing the creation of the global civil society, hence affecting the actual government.

I brought up only basic International Relations theories, but the point is that the global civil society is shaped in a way of which you see the society and how you think about it.

To answer where the ‘bad’ and ‘good’ are located, we cannot say what is bad or good.

It is depending on your thoughts and what side you are standing of. We cannot say the Lebanon government is bad because they don’t allow their woman to pass their citizenships to their children. The laws that are initially created are very critical because cultures, society issues, and also religions may be included (Although I know nothing about laws). Thus the endings of the global civil society are complicated, and different case by case.

Here are my thoughts, please comment if you have different ideas.

Thanks

Young Hoon Yoo

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