Global Civil Society : Shifting Powers in a Shifting World

What is global civil society, and what role does it play in world politics? Some see grassroots organising transnationally, whereby marginalised groups pres- sure states and corporations towards increased democracy and respect for human rights. Others hold that global civil society actors are instruments in a neo-colonial exercise of power over the global South, serving Northern values and political or economic interests. This volume discusses the multifaceted character of global civil society, constituting a political space where a diversity of actors struggle over values and aims, and where power and resources are unequally distributed. It also addresses how the space changes character with new global actors such as the BRICS countries, and with the waged War on Terror. The volume authors – academics as well as development practitioners – describe civil society actors from across the world and various forms of transnational politics, displaying the complex and sometimes contradictory relations of power that are at play