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Zhao Ziyang and China's Political Future (China Policy Series)
by Guoguang Wu Helen LansdowneWhat legacies have previous reformers like Zhao Ziyang left to today’s China? Does China have feasible political alternatives to today’s repressive ‘market Leninism’ and corrupt ‘state capitalism’? Does Zhao’s legacy indicate an alternative to the past and for the future? For those who are familiar with the development of Chinese politics since the reform years, Zhao is now widely regarded as a major architect of the nation’s profound transition. His contributions to China’s post-Mao development are rich and multi faceted, including those on rural and urban economic reforms extending to accountable governance, liberal policies concerning domestic affairs and China’s foreign relations. Featuring contributions from leading experts in the field such as Richard Baum and Xiaonong Cheng this book explores the historical development of China’s political reform issues, and how his political legacies are relevant to China’s political development since the 1980s to the future. Using recently translated recollection articles by veteran reformers who worked with Zhao in the 1980s, like Du Runsheng, An Zhiwen, Li Rui, Bao Tong, Zhao Ziyang and China's Political Future is a valuable contribution for students and researchers interested in the Chinese politics, Asian politics and political development in Asia.
The Zhivago Affair: The Kremlin, the CIA, and the Battle Over a Forbidden Book
by Peter Finn Petra CouvéeDrawing on newly declassified government files, this is the dramatic story of how a forbidden book in the Soviet Union became a secret CIA weapon in the ideological battle between East and West. In May 1956, an Italian publishing scout took a train to a village just outside Moscow to visit Russia's greatest living poet, Boris Pasternak. He left carrying the original manuscript of Pasternak's first and only novel, entrusted to him with these words: "This is Doctor Zhivago. May it make its way around the world." Pasternak believed his novel was unlikely ever to be published in the Soviet Union, where the authorities regarded it as an irredeemable assault on the 1917 Revolution. But he thought it stood a chance in the West and, indeed, beginning in Italy, Doctor Zhivago was widely published in translation throughout the world. From there the life of this extraordinary book entered the realm of the spy novel. The CIA, which recognized that the Cold War was above all an ideological battle, published a Russian-language edition of Doctor Zhivago and smuggled it into the Soviet Union. Copies were devoured in Moscow and Leningrad, sold on the black market, and passed surreptitiously from friend to friend. Pasternak's funeral in 1960 was attended by thousands of admirers who defied their government to bid him farewell. The example he set launched the great tradition of the writer-dissident in the Soviet Union. In The Zhivago Affair, Peter Finn and Petra Couvée bring us intimately close to this charming, passionate, and complex artist. First to obtain CIA files providing concrete proof of the agency's involvement, the authors give us a literary thriller that takes us back to a fascinating period of the Cold War--to a time when literature had the power to stir the world.(With 8 pages of black-and-white illustrations.)From the Hardcover edition.
Zhou Enlai: A Life
by Jian ChenThe definitive biography of Zhou Enlai, the first premier and preeminent diplomat of the People’s Republic of China, who protected his country against the excesses of his boss—Chairman Mao.Zhou Enlai spent twenty-seven years as premier of the People’s Republic of China and ten as its foreign minister. He was the architect of the country’s administrative apparatus and its relationship to the world, as well as its legendary spymaster. Richard Nixon proclaimed him “the greatest statesman of our era.” Yet Zhou has always been overshadowed by Chairman Mao. Chen Jian brings Zhou into the light, offering a nuanced portrait of his complex life as a revolutionary, a master diplomat, and a man with his own vision and aspirations who did much to make China, as well as the larger world, what it is today.Born to a declining mandarin family in 1898, Zhou received a classical education and as a teenager spent time in Japan. As a young man, driven by the desire for China’s development, Zhou embraced the communist revolution as a vehicle of China’s salvation. He helped Mao govern through a series of transformations, including the disastrous Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution. Yet, as Chen shows, Zhou was never a committed Maoist. His extraordinary political and bureaucratic skill, combined with his centrist approaches, enabled him to mitigate the enormous damage caused by Mao’s radicalism.When Zhou died in 1976, the PRC that we know of was not yet visible on the horizon; he never saw glistening twenty-first-century Shanghai or the broader emergence of Chinese capitalism. But it was Zhou’s work that shaped the nation whose influence and power are today felt in every corner of the globe.
Zhu Rongji on the Record
by Henry A. Kissinger Rongji Zhu Helmut SchmidtChina's explosive transformation from a planned economy to a more market-oriented one over the past three decades owes much to the charismatic reformer Zhu Rongji. His pragmatism and strong work ethic have been key forces in China's drive to greater modernization and global stature. He served as the mayor and party chief in Shanghai from 1987 to 1991, as vice premier of China from 1991 to 1998, and then as premier until 2003. This monumental collection brings together, for the first time in English, over one hundred important speeches, articles, letters, and instructions written during his term as vice premier, when he had major responsibility for fulfilling Deng Xiaoping's vision and setting China on a new and fruitful course.During this time, Zhu embarked on a plan to reduce the size of government and reform the heavily indebted banking system and state-owned enterprises as well as the housing and health care systems. His sweeping efforts ranged from lobbying for the establishment of stock exchanges to revitalizing agriculture through the introduction of a modern grain market. The ramifications of these reforms are still being felt throughout China and the globe, and Zhu Rongji on the Record provides a real-time look at these plans as they were being formulated during the 1990s.These pages also reflect the forthright personality that gained great popularity with the Chinese public. Zhu vows to speak the truth and avoid "empty talk," as he tells his compatriots. "We must tackle [reform] with both hands, and both hands must be strong." To this end, he provides lists of "musts" and "mustn'ts" that will ensure a "soft landing" during China's transition and calls for swift and resolute action, both in reform and in fighting corruption.In addition to revealing the evolution of Zhu's thinking and demonstrating how he helped transform the world's most populous nation, this book provides insight into the course of China's economic reform from the 1990s through the first part of the twenty-first century-a period of time that is key to the global order today.Publication of this English edition of Zhu Rongji on the Record will be an important milestone in Sino-U.S. cultural exchange and a significant contribution to greater understanding between the world's two largest economic powers.
Zhu Rongji on the Record
by Helmut Schmidt Henry A. Kissinger Rongji ZhuChina's explosive transformation from a planned economy to a more market-oriented one over the past three decades owes much to the charismatic reformer Zhu Rongji. As China's premier from 1998 to 2003, Zhu displayed a pragmatism and strong work ethic that have been key forces in China's drive to greater modernization and global stature.During this time, Zhu embarked on a plan to reduce the size of government and reform the heavily indebted banking system and state-owned enterprises as well as to overhaul the housing and health care systems. His sweeping efforts ranged from lobbying for the establishment of stock exchanges to revitalizing agriculture through the introduction of a modern grain market. The ramifications of these reforms are still being felt throughout China and the globe, and The Road to Reform provides a real-time look at these plans as they were being formulated during the 1990s to the early 2000s.The second of a two-volume collection containing more than 100 speeches and personal papers by Zhu, this volume is a revealing and insightful look at Zhu's thinking and will lead to greater understanding of one of the world's two largest economic powers.
Zhu Rongji on the Record
by Rongji ZhuChina's explosive transformation from a planned economy to a more market-oriented one over the past three decades owes much to the charismatic reformer Zhu Rongji. As China's premier from 1998 to 2003, Zhu displayed a pragmatism and strong work ethic that have been key forces in China's drive to greater modernization and global stature. During this time, Zhu embarked on a plan to reduce the size of government and reform the heavily indebted banking system and state-owned enter-prises as well as to overhaul the housing and health care systems. His sweeping efforts ranged from lobbying for the establishment of stock exchanges to revitalizing agri-culture through the introduction of a modern grain mar-ket. The ramifications of these reforms are still being felt throughout China and the globe, and The Road to Reform provides a real-time look at these plans as they were being formulated during the 1990s to the early 2000s.The second of a two-volume collection containing more than 100 speeches and personal papers by Zhu, this volume is a revealing and insightful look at Zhu's thinking and will lead to greater understanding of one of the world's two largest economic powers.
Zhu Rongji on the Record
by Rongji Zhu June Mei Henry A. Kissinger Helmut SchmidtChina's explosive transformation from a planned economy to a more market-oriented one over the past three decades owes much to the charismatic reformer Zhu Rongji. His pragmatism and strong work ethic have been key forces in China's drive to greater modernization and global stature. He served as the mayor and party chief in Shanghai from 1987 to 1991, as vice premier of China from 1991 to 1998, and then as premier until 2003. This monumental collection brings together, for the first time in English, over one hundred important speeches, articles, letters, and instructions written during his term as vice premier, when he had major responsibility for fulfilling Deng Xiaoping's vision and setting China on a new and fruitful course.During this time, Zhu embarked on a plan to reduce the size of government and reform the heavily indebted banking system and state-owned enterprises as well as the housing and health care systems. His sweeping efforts ranged from lobbying for the establishment of stock exchanges to revitalizing agriculture through the introduction of a modern grain market. The ramifications of these reforms are still being felt throughout China and the globe, and Zhu Rongji on the Record provides a real-time look at these plans as they were being formulated during the 1990s.These pages also reflect the forthright personality that gained great popularity with the Chinese public. Zhu vows to speak the truth and avoid "empty talk," as he tells his compatriots. "We must tackle [reform] with both hands, and both hands must be strong." To this end, he provides lists of "musts" and "mustn'ts" that will ensure a "soft landing" during China's transition and calls for swift and resolute action, both in reform and in fighting corruption.In addition to revealing the evolution of Zhu's thinking and demonstrating how he helped transform the world's most populous nation, this book provides insight into the course of China's economic reform from the 1990s through the first part of the twenty-first century--a period of time that is key to the global order today.Publication of this English edition of Zhu Rongji on the Record will be an important milestone in Sino-U.S. cultural exchange and a significant contribution to greater understanding between the world's two largest economic powers.
Zielgruppen im Policy-Making der Europäischen Union: Eine vergleichende Studie der Politiken zu Nachhaltigkeits- und Tabakkonsum (Forschungen zur Europäischen Integration)
by Jan PollexDie Studie untersucht, wie in zwei Bereichen der europäischen Politik auf Adressaten eingegangen wird. In der EU-Umweltpolitik dominiert die Annahme souveräner Konsumenten, während in der EU-Gesundheitspolitik von Adressaten ausgegangen wird, die durch politische Maßnahmen stärker geschützt werden müssen. Diese unterschiedlichen Charakterisierungen der Zielgruppen spielen eine wesentliche Rolle für die Begründung politischer Maßnahmen und Steuerungsansätze. Die Betonung schwacher und spezifischer Zielgruppen in der EU-Gesundheitspolitik ermöglicht Maßnahmen wie die Einführung von verhaltensbasierten Instrumenten.Der AutorJan Pollex ist wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am Geschwister-Scholl-Institut für Politikwissenschaft der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. Er forscht zur Europäischen Union, Umwelt- und Nachhaltigkeits- und Gesundheitspolitik. Einen weiteren Schwerpunkt stellt die Parteienforschung und lokale Politikforschung dar.
Zielkonflikte der Bioökonomie: Biobasiertes Wirtschaften im Spannungsfeld von Ökonomie und Ökologie (Energie in Naturwissenschaft, Technik, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft)
by Daniela Perbandt Thomas Vogelpohl Katrin Beer Annette Elisabeth Töller Michael BöcherDas Buch vermittelt ein vertieftes Verständnis des Konzepts der Bioökonomie, seiner politischen Entwicklung sowie der mit ihr einhergehenden Ziele und Zielkonflikte. In Kapitel 1 wird den Fragen nachgegangen, was das Konzept Bioökonomie ausmacht, aus welchen Sektoren es besteht und welche Definitionen von Bioökonomie es gibt. Kapitel 2 führt anschließend in die großen gesellschaftlichen Herausforderungen ein, vor deren Hintergrund die Bioökonomie eingeführt wurde und zeigt deren Entwicklung in Europa und weltweit auf. Kapitel 3 arbeitet die Ziele einer Bioökonomie heraus, wie sie in den verschiedenen europäischen und nationalen Strategiepapieren definiert sind. Daraus werden die wichtigsten Zielkonflikte abgeleitet, in dessen Spannungsfeld sich die Bioökonomie bewegt. Kapitel 4 fasst das Wesentliche kurz zusammen.
Zimbabwe (The Evolution of Africa's Major Nations)
by Michael BaughanRhodesia, a country in southern Africa, was a fairly prosperous British colony until the mid-1960s; however, the black African majority of Rhodesia was ruled by a handful of white leaders. The country fought Great Britain in a 15-year war for independence, which it ultimately achieved in 1980. Zimbabwe, as the new country became known, saw its prosperity decline dramatically under Robert Mugabe, its first ruler. He seized total control over the country and persecuted his political enemies. In recent years, Mugabe's policies--such as military involvement in the Congolese civil war and a land redistribution program--as well as government corruption have devastated the country economically. Although Mugabe's agreed to a power-sharing arrangement in 2009, many political issues remain unresolved. As a result, the future of Zimbabwe is uncertain.
Zimbabwe
by Hany BesadaFormerly one of Africa s most promising economies, Zimbabwe has begun a process of economic reconstruction after decades of political turmoil and economic mismanagement. The advent of a national unity government in February 2009 launched a new but still tentative era of political stability. The government has a daunting political and economic agenda. Top priorities include restoring the rule of law, demonstrating fiscal responsibility, and putting in place macroeconomic and structural reforms to win the confidence of domestic and international investors. An optimistic time frame for its socio-economic recovery is now estimated to be at least ten years. Zimbabwe: Picking Up the Pieces chronicles the steps that led to the downturn of the Zimbabwean state and economy before assessing what can be done to resuscitate a once-thriving society. Leading experts from and on the region explore the country s options on key governance issues, from strengthening institutions to addressing food security to promoting private sector development to mobilizing donor country assistance. This collection offers a unique glimpse into a fragile state and the severe costs Zimbabweans have and will have to endure if there is to be any hope of recovery.
The Zimbabwe Council of Churches and Development in Zimbabwe
by Ezra ChitandoThere is a growing realization that religion plays a major role in development, particularly in the Global South. Whereas theories of secularization assumed that religion would disappear, the reality is that religion has demonstrated its tenacity. In the specific case of Zimbabwe, religion has remained a positive social force and has made a significant contribution to development, particularly through the Zimbabwe Council of Churches. This has been through political activism, contribution to health, education, women’s emancipation, and ethical reconstruction. This volume analyzes the contribution of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches to development in the country.
The Zimbabwean Crisis after Mugabe: Multidisciplinary Perspectives (Routledge Contemporary Africa)
by Tendai MangenaThis book examines the ways in which political discourses of crisis and ‘newness’ are (re)produced, circulated, naturalised, received and contested in Post-Mugabe Zimbabwe. Going beyond the ordinariness of conventional political, human and social science methods, the book offers new and engaging multi-disciplinary approaches that treat discourse and language as important sites to encounter the politics of contested representations of the Zimbabwean crisis in the wake of the 2017 coup. The book centres discourse on new approaches to contestations around the discursive framing of various aspects of the socio-economic and political crisis related to significant political changes in Zimbabwe post-2017. Contributors in this volume, most of whom experienced the complex transition first-hand, examine some of the ways in which language functions as a socio-cultural and political mechanism for creating imaginaries, circulating, defending and contesting conceptions, visions, perceptions and knowledges of the post-Mugabe turn in the Zimbabwean crisis and its management by the "New Dispensation". This book will be of interest to scholars of African studies, postcolonial studies, language/discourse studies, African politics and culture.
The Zimbabwean Maverick: Dambudzo Marechera and Utopian Thinking (Literary Criticism and Cultural Theory)
by Shun Man CHOW-QUESADAThis book seeks to unfold the complexity within the works of Dambudzo Marechera and presents scholars and readers with a way of reading his works in light of utopian thinking. Writing during a traumatic transitional period in Zimbabwe’s history, Marechera witnessed the upheavals caused by different parties battling for power in the nation. Aware of the fact that all institutionalized narratives – whether they originated from the colonial governance of the UK, Ian Smith’s white minority regime, or Zimbabwe’s revolutionary parties – appeal to visions of a utopian society but reveal themselves to be fiction, Marechera imagined a unique utopia. For Marechera, utopia is not a static entity but a moment of perpetual change. He rethinks utopia by phrasing it as an ongoing event that ceaselessly contests institutionalized narratives of the postcolonial self and its relationship to society. Marechera writes towards a vision of an alternative future for the country. Yet, it is a vision that does not constitute a fully rounded sense of utopia. Being cautious about the world and the operation of power upon the people, rather than imposing his own utopian ideals, Marechera chooses instead to destabilize the narrative constitution of the self in relation to society in order to turn towards a truly radical utopian thinking that empowers the individual.
Zimbabwe’s International Relations: Fantasy, Reality and the Making of the State
by Julia GallagherZimbabwe is a state that has undergone significant ruptures in its domestic and international politics in recent years. This book explores how Zimbabwean citizens have, under difficult circumstances, reconstructed ideas of their state by imagining the wider world. Unlike other work on international relations, which tends to focus on the state level, this book is based on the accounts of ordinary people. Drawing on interviews with more than two hundred Zimbabweans, collected over three years, Gallagher explores how citizens draw on emotional responses to the international to find and construct different 'others'. While this unique and compelling read will appeal to those researching Zimbabwe, Gallagher's wider conclusions will interest those studying and advancing the broader theoretical debates of international relations.
Zionism and Melancholy: The Short Life of Israel Zarchi (New Jewish Philosophy and Thought)
by Nitzan Lebovic“Lebovic reveals a great deal about the work of Zarchi and the melancholic mindset of an entire generation of contemporary Israelis . . . Highly recommended.” —ChoiceNitzan Lebovic claims that political melancholy is the defining trait of a generation of Israelis born between the 1960s and 1990s. This cohort came of age during wars, occupation and intifada, cultural conflict, and the failure of the Oslo Accords. The atmosphere of militarism and conservative state politics left little room for democratic opposition or dissent.Lebovic and others depict the failure to respond not only as a result of institutional pressure but as the effect of a long-lasting “left-wing melancholy.” In order to understand its grip on Israeli society, Lebovic turns to the novels and short stories of Israel Zarchi. For him, Zarchi aptly describes the gap between the utopian hope present in Zionism since its early days and the melancholic reality of the present. Through personal engagement with Zarchi, Lebovic develops a philosophy of melancholy and shows how it pervades Israeli society.
Zionism, Palestinian Nationalism and the Law: 1939-1948 (UCLA Center for Middle East Development (CMED))
by Steven E. ZippersteinDuring the last decade of the British Mandate for Palestine (1939–1948), Arabs and Jews used the law as a resource to gain leverage against each other and to influence international opinion. The parties invoked "transformational legal framing" to portray the essentially political-religious conflict as a legal dispute involving claims of justice, injustice, and victimisation, and giving rise to legal/equitable remedies. Employing this form of narrative and framing in multiple "trials" during the first 15 years of the Mandate, the parties continued the practice during the last and most crucial decade of the Mandate. The term "trial" provides an appropriate typology for understanding the adversarial proceedings during those years in which judges, lawyers, witnesses, cross-examination, and legal argumentation played a key role in the conflict. The four trials between 1939 and 1947 produced three different outcomes: the one-state solution in favour of the Palestinian Arabs, the no-state solution, and the two-state solution embodied in the United Nations November 1947 partition resolution, culminating in Israel's independence in May 1948. This study analyses the role of the law during the last decade of the British Mandate for Palestine, making an essential contribution to the literature on lawfare, framing and narrative, and the Arab-Israeli Conflict.
A Zionist among Palestinians (Encounters)
by Mubarak Awad Edward Edy Kaufman Hillel BardinA Zionist among Palestinians offers the perspective of an ordinary Israeli citizen who became concerned about the Israeli military's treatment of Palestinians and was moved to work for peace. Hillel Bardin, a confirmed Zionist, was a reservist in the Israeli army during the first intifada when he met Palestinians arrested by his unit. He learned that they supported peace with Israel and the then-taboo proposal for a two-state solution, and that they understood the intifada as a struggle to achieve these goals. Bardin began to organize dialogues between Arabs and Israelis in West Bank villages, towns, and refugee camps. In 1988, he was jailed for meeting with Palestinians while on active duty in Ramallah. Over the next two decades, he participated in a variety of peace organizations and actions, from arranging for Israelis to visit Palestinian communities and homes, to the joint jogging group "Runners for Peace," to marches, political organizing, and demonstrations supporting peace, security, and freedom. In this very personal account, Bardin tries to come to grips with the conflict in a way that takes account of both Israeli-Zionist and Palestinian aims.
Zionist Israel and Apartheid South Africa: Civil society and peace building in ethnic-national states (Routledge Studies on the Arab-Israeli Conflict)
by Amneh BadranThis book is a comparison of two ethnic-national "apartheid" states – South Africa and Israel – which have been in conflict, and how internal dissent has developed. In particular it examines the evolution of effective white protest in South Africa and explores the reasons why comparably powerful movements have not emerged in Israel. The book reveals patterns of behaviour shared by groups in both cases. It argues that although the role played by protest groups in peace-building may be limited, a tipping point, or ‘magic point’, can become as significant as other major factors. It highlights the role played by intermediate variables that affect the pathways of protest groups: such as changes in the international system; the visions and strategies of resistance movements and their degree of success; the economic relationship between the dominant and dominated side; and the legitimacy of the ideology in power (apartheid or Zionism). Although the politics and roles of protest groups in both cases share some similarities, differences remain. Whilst white protest groups moved towards an inclusive peace agenda that adopts the ANC vision of a united non-racial democratic South Africa, the Jewish Israeli protest groups are still, by majority, entrenched in their support for an exclusive Jewish state. And as such, they support separation between the two peoples and a limited division of mandatory Palestine / ‘Eretz Israel’. This timely book sheds light on a controversial and explosive political issue: Israel being compared to apartheid South Africa.
Zion's Dilemmas: How Israel Makes National Security Policy
by Charles D. FreilichIn Zion's Dilemmas, a former deputy national security advisor to the State of Israel details the history and, in many cases, the chronic inadequacies in the making of Israeli national security policy. Chuck Freilich identifies profound, ongoing problems that he ascribes to a series of factors: a hostile and highly volatile regional environment, Israel's proportional representation electoral system, and structural peculiarities of the Israeli government and bureaucracy.Freilich uses his insider understanding and substantial archival and interview research to describe how Israel has made strategic decisions and to present a first of its kind model of national security decision-making in Israel. He analyzes the major events of the last thirty years, from Camp David I to the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, through Camp David II, the Gaza Disengagement Plan of 2000, and the second Lebanon war of 2006.In these and other cases he identifies opportunities forgone, failures that resulted from a flawed decision-making process, and the entanglement of Israeli leaders in an inconsistent, highly politicized, and sometimes improvisational planning process. The cabinet is dysfunctional and Israel does not have an effective statutory forum for its decision-making-most of which is thus conducted in informal settings. In many cases policy objectives and options are poorly formulated. For all these problems, however, the Israeli decision-making process does have some strengths, among them the ability to make rapid and flexible responses, generally pragmatic decision-making, effective planning within the defense establishment, and the skills and motivation of those involved. Freilich concludes with cogent and timely recommendations for reform.
Zirkulares Grundeinkommen und Nullzinspolitik: Eine Lösung für zwei Probleme (essentials)
by Eduard LukschandlDie Einführung eines Zirkularen Grundeinkommens wird die beiden Hauptziele eines Bedingungslosen Grundeinkommens erreichen: Allen Menschen wird die Möglichkeit gegeben, in Würde leben zu können, und die Ärmsten und Armutsgefährdeten können ein erträgliches Leben führen. Das Zirkulare Grundeinkommen stellt zugleich die Lösung für das Problem der EZB dar, mit einer zeitlich befristeten Geldmengenerhöhung das Inflationsziel von zwei Prozent zu erreichen, um die Wirtschaft anzukurbeln. Eduard Lukschandl zeigt in dem Band, warum die Einführung einer Komplementärwährung der Nullzinspolitik überlegen ist.
Zivil - Gesellschaft - Staat
by Thomas Bibisidis Jaana Eichhorn Ansgar Klein Christa Perabo Susanne RindtDer Band thematisiert die Bedeutung der Freiwilligendienste hinsichtlich ihrer Potenziale und Wirkungen für die Zivilgesellschaft, ihre Handlungsfelder und Rahmenbedingungen und nimmt die beteiligten Akteure in den Blick. Dabei geht es um Entwicklungslinien, Profildiskussionen und aktuelle Debatten, u. a. zu Fragen der Qualitätssicherung, zum Bildungsbegriff, der politischen Indienstnahme von Freiwilligendiensten, zur Arbeitsmarktneutralität und zum Trägerprinzip als konstitutivem Merkmal der Freiwilligendienste.
Zivilgesellschaft in Subsahara Afrika
by Walter EberleiDer ,,arabische Frühling" hat vielfaches Erstaunen über die Kraft zivilgesellschaftlicher politischer Arbeit ausgelöst. So unbemerkt wie das Pulverfass in Nordafrika entstand, so unbeachtet scheinen auch die gesellschaftspolitischen Dynamiken in den Ländern südlich der Sahara zu sein. Die Wahrnehmung politischer Entwicklungen in diesem ärmsten Teil der Welt begrenzt sich vielfach auf zerfallene Staaten wie Somalia, korrupte Kleptokratien wie Simbabwe oder in schier endlosen Kriegen und Konflikten versunkene Länder wie dem Kongo. Der Band beschäftigt sich mit gesellschaftspolitischen Dynamiken jenseits dieser Extreme, genauer: mit dem vielfach erkennbaren Phänomen verstärkter zivilgesellschaftlicher politischer Einflussnahme in Subsahara Afrika. Das Autorenteam leistet einen Beitrag dazu, diese neuere politische Entwicklung zu verstehen und seine Ausprägungen zu erklären.
Zivilgesellschaft und Stadtöffentlichkeit: Eine akteurszentrierte Analyse der kommunikativen Figuration der Stadt
by Katharina Heitmann-WernerStadtöffentlichkeiten sind bunt, vielfältig und heterogen. Besonders deutlich wird dies bei der Analyse der beteiligten Akteure. Denn während klassische Öffentlichkeitsakteure, wie etwa lokale Medien bereits vielfach wissenschaftlich erforscht worden sind, nimmt dieses Buch eine Akteursgruppe unter die Lupe, die bisher aus kommunikations- und medienwissenschaftlicher Perspektive wenige Beachtung erfahren hat. Zivilgesellschaftliche Kollektive wie Sportvereine, soziale Bewegungen oder Kunst- und Kultureinrichtungen prägen mit ihren vielfältigen Angeboten und Aktionen das Stadtbild. Gleichzeitig prägen sie auch die städtische Öffentlichkeit, indem sie sich aktiv an ihrer Konstitution beteiligen. Die Autorin identifiziert sieben unterschiedliche Typen zivilgesellschaftlicher Kollektive, die jeweils ganz eigene Medienpraktiken und -ensembles zur öffentlichen Kommunikation einsetzen. Sie verfolgen dabei sehr unterschiedliche Ziele innerhalb der Stadtöffentlichkeit und agieren innerhalbjeweils sehr verschiedener Netzwerke. Das Buch stellt die äußerst relevante Rolle dieser Akteure bei der Öffentlichkeitskonstitution heraus und zeigt, dass es gewinnbringend ist, Akteure von Stadtöffentlichkeiten nicht isoliert zu erforschen, sondern innerhalb ihrer Beziehungsgefüge zu anderen Akteuren der Stadtöffentlichkeit.
Zivilgesellschaftliche Koordination in der kommunalen Selbstverwaltung: Eine komparative Untersuchung administrativ-politischer Verfahren und kommunalpolitischer Prozesse
by Peter-Georg AlbrechtKommunale Selbstverwaltung lässt sich allein weder institutionen-affin noch wettbewerbswirtschaftlich-freiheitlich oder kritisch-emanzipatorisch verwirklichen. Der Band analysiert ausgewählte Verfahren und Prozesse in der kommunalen Bau-, Wirtschafts- und Sozialpolitik sowie Ordnungs- und Sicherheitspolitik. Er gibt Empfehlungen für kommunalpolitische Akteure und Verwaltungsleitungen, die auf Basis eines Konzepts der zivilgesellschaftlichen Koordination handeln wollen. Die interessierte Leserin und den interessierten Leser erwarten eine detailreiche Einführung, ein breiter Überblick sowie eine dichte Beschreibung verschiedener Verfahren, Prozesse und Handlungsfelder.