Public relations and the rhetoric of civil society

The intention of this paper is to build on a book by Anne Surma (2005). It takes some of Surma’s ideas probably beyond what was originally intended in order to suggest their logical conclusions for the practice of public relations. Surma argues that writing and reading of every type enables or otherwise facilitates or restricts imagination. Further, this shaping or inflection of the imagination leads to the shaping or the inflection of the type of ‘ethic’ which we are able to hold in our heads about the world which surrounds us. If this is the case then public relations writing, which has the very raison d’etre of influencing thought, must lend itself to important analysis in this regard. This paper presumes the reader has a basic understanding of Charles Saunders Peirce’s notion of semiotics.

Democracy in the making : municipal reforms, civil society, and the Brazilian Workers' Party

Ch. 1. Introduction -- Ch. 2. Change and Continuity: Brazilian Municipal Reforms in Context -- Ch. 3. Itabuna -- Ch. 4. Sao Paulo -- Ch. 5. Porto Alegre -- Ch. 6. 'Genuine' Democracy: Civil Society, the Workers' Party and Beyond.

Universiti Sains Malaysia and the engagement with sustainability and civil society within globalization

According to some commentators, the dynamics and forces of globalization have lead to a radical rethink in respect to the role of the university in contemporary society. This rethink has taken several guises. For some it involves the radical privatization of universities. For others it involves the democratization of  universities. Universities exist therefore in a globalized world that is increasingly interconnected and where space and time are increasingly narrowed and  accelerated. Within these broad phenomenons’s neo-liberal globalization entails the increasing need to produce profit and the expansion of the logic of neo-liberal hegemony in education in the guise of reframing education as a service industry. The contradictions that characterize Malaysia s engagement with globalization at a national level manifest in debates over globalization and Higher Education. The most pertinent issue in regards to this relates to the problem of sustainability. In the context of neo-liberal globalization sustainability contradicts the fundamental essence of consumption. The idea of human beings as first and foremost  consumers of things is a normative ideal at odds with the concept of a  sustainable future. At a very basic philosophical level the concept and normative project of neo-liberal capitalism and globalization is tied to a concept of individual possessiveness and consumption that radically challenges cultures that do not share such possessively individualistic precepts. Marketization in Malaysian universities must be tempered by also connecting universities to civil society in such a way that tempers both extremes of the state and market and allows a more sustainable relationship between the social frameworks within which it operates.

Civil society, social capital and the Twelve Step group

This article examines the nature of community and family by using the concept of civil society through a Twelve Step group called Al-Anon. Al-Anon is related to Alcoholics Anonymous and is a support group for families of alcoholics. The concept of civil society is addressed by looking at its development in political philosophy and sociology. The work of Putnam, in particular, is used to understand how civil society and the associations which make it up develop social capital [Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy, Princeton University Press (1993); Journal of Democracy, 6(1), 65-78 (1995); The Responsive Community, 5(2), 18-33 (1995)]. Social capital is understood to be norms and values such as trust and reciprocity that enable sociability or social connectedness. Community, then, embodies these norms of trust and reciprocity through their development in Al-Anon. Al-Anon is studied as an example of an association in civil society. The data come from an ethnographic study in Australia and five European countries as well as in-depth interviews with women members in Australia. The article reviews the similarities and differences between the various countries as well as the form that social capital takes for individual members.

Winds of change in Myanmar? Implications for international cooperation In poverty alleviation

We are witnessing the beginnings of what could well be significant change in Myanmar. Elections in November 2010 were quickly followed by the release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, then by the resignation of Senior-General Than Shwe, dissolution of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the opening of parliament, and the inauguration of Thein Sein as President on 30th March 2011. Thein Sein's inauguration speech called for national reconciliation and an end to corruption, promised a more market-oriented economy, and vowed to create employment opportunities. He also pledged to develop the health and education sectors in cooperation with international organisations, and to alleviate poverty. While some fear this may only be rhetoric, a growing number of indications suggest that major political and economic reform may indeed be getting underway. This paper traces these recent developments and the possibility of significantly improved international development cooperation in Myanmar, particularly as it affects the prospects of poverty alleviation efforts and cooperation with Western INGO and multilateral agencies. It analyses the implications of this reform on international development assistance and cooperation from the perspectives of humanitarian needs, international relations theory, development theory, and political philosophy.