Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Books
Between the Lines Generation NGO
Book Synopsis
£16.16
INTRAC Civil Society in Action: Global case studies in a
Book SynopsisThis book uses case studies from around the world which show a clear framework for understanding the nature and role of civil society, prove that civil society is alive and kicking, and makes recommendations for more effective civil society strengthening.Vibrant examples of action by indigenous groups, advocacy journalism, and transnational southern campaigning alliances are all explored, illustrating a framework for understanding civil society based on the functions it fulfils:Generating the social basis for democracyPromoting political accountabilityProducing social trust, reciprocity and networksCreating and promoting alternatives, andSupporting the rights of citizens and the concept of citizenship.The cases remind us of the vital need for an independent, diverse and strong civil society. The battle to reduce poverty will not be won without developing a supportive civil society which can act to demand rights, transparency and good governance from the state, counterbalance elite controls of the economy and polity, and build a culture of cooperation, trust and accountability from below.This book makes strong recommendations to help us build towards diverse and sustainable civil societies, including: an emphasis on building networks and coalitions across civil society associations of different shapes and sizes; placing a high value on membership-based groups; a focus on the enabling environment, and long-term, holistic capacity building. We are encouraged to once again let civil society shape our development agendas.This book is intended for NGOs, think tanks, multilateral and bilateral donors; all those engaged in supporting civil society, or running wider programmes where it is important to take civil society into account.
£12.30
Taylor & Francis Ltd Evolving Partnerships: A Guide to Working with
Book SynopsisBy bringing together their respective competencies and resources for the greater good, governments, business, civil society and multilateral agencies have been seeking innovative ways to work together to respond to the myriad global challenges of our time: the impact of climate change; human security; the prevention, care and treatment of HIV/AIDS and other major diseases; the generation of new investment, entrepreneurship and employment; and financing for development. The appetite for such partnerships appears strong. Over 90% of corporate executives responding to a World Economic Forum survey felt that future partnerships between business, government and civil society would play either a major role or some role in addressing key development challenges. This trend will only be increased by the Western financial crisis and the retreat of the state from many areas of societal concern. In the last 15 years, many new partnerships have been formed, and many new people exposed to partnership ways of working. There have been remarkable successes, but also a range of concerns about effectiveness and accountability. Partnerships can work, but can they work better? Many practitioners are now asking how they can achieve a greater scale of impact to match the magnitude of the social and environmental challenges we face. When considering how to equip their organization or programme with the necessary skills to engage with companies in new ways, many leaders of NGOs or UN agencies hire staff from the private sector. Although such staff exchanges are important, it is not sufficient to rely on private-sector staff to develop and implement strategic forms of engagement. Rather, engaging business for social change is a specialism in itself. This book seeks to distil some of the author's 15 years of experience and key learnings on the advanced strategic planning of partnerships for people who work within civil society or public-sector organizations and who already partner with companies. Much of the research focus to date has been on operational issues, rather than on the strategic challenge of evolving partnerships to achieve a greater scale of impact. Rather than helping the reader with moving on from partnerships, this guidebook is intended to help with moving up to a greater scale of impact. The author identifies three generations in the evolution of cross-sector partnering and draws insights from the latest biological evolutionary theory on how complex systems can sustain themselves over time, translating this into a method for understanding and assessing partnering practice. Evolving Partnerships provides a rich and accessible mix of commentary, boxes for clarification, and 11 exercises to help the reader evolve partnering to achieve a wider level of impact – a level that responds to the scale, depth and urgency of the challenges we face today. Written by one of the world's leading authorities on partnerships and a key architect of global partnerships, including the Marine Stewardship Council, Evolving Partnerships will be essential reading for all those involved in cross-sectoral partnerships.Trade ReviewPartnerships can work, but can they work better? This accessible guidebook distils the author's key learnings on the advanced strategic planning of cross-sectoral partnerships.This guide gives valuable insights on lessons learned and outlines viable approaches to achieve greater effectiveness and impact. It is especially timely ahead of Rio +20 as governments are eager to experiment with fresh approaches to bring about much-needed change. - Georg Kell, Executive Director, United Nations Global Compact || The desire to 'give back to society' is growing among fledging and established industrial houses/corporations in India. However, most Indian companies who wish to be more responsible, lack the knowledge, trained manpower or the dedication to carry out community development programmes. In his excellent and useful guide, "Evolving Partnerships: A Guide to Working with Business for Greater Social Change", Jem Bendell says, "The appetite for partnerships appears strong. Over 90% of corporate executives responding to a World Economic Forum survey felt that future 'partnerships between business, government, and civil society would play either a major role or some role in addressing key development challenges'." Evolving Partnerships is a much needed guide to helping businesses and civil society work their way to successful partnerships. It holds the hands of the practitioners and takes them through the various stages of creating meaningful partnerships to bring about greater social change. This is a very useful guide for business houses in India and, more particularly, public sector units who need to secure NGO cooperation to implement their CSR agenda. Seeking partnerships is only part of the issue; more important is setting them up and making them effective and functional. Jem Bendell, with his vast experience in the area, has put together an excellent book which could serve as a bible for those involved in creating workable solutions through business/civil society cooperation. This is a must read publication. - 'indiacsr', 5 January 2012 - Suresh Kr Pramar, Executive Director, Centre for Training & Research in Responsible Business, NoidaTable of ContentsForeword Professor Malcolm McIntosh, Asia Pacific Centre for Sustainable Enterprise, Griffith University Introduction 1. A Planet of Partnerships2. Generations of Partnership3. Transcending Limitations with a Third Generation of Partnerships4. Assessing Your Partnering5. Evolving to the Next Generation of Partnership6. The Challenges Facing Third-Generation Partners7. The Particular Opportunities and Challenges of 3rd Generation Partnerships for Development ConclusionsReferences
£23.74
Red Press Ltd Unicorns Unite: How Non-Profits and Foundations
Book SynopsisCalling all change-makers! Open your mind, and buckle up for a bumpy ride through a truth-telling journey about the dysfunctional relationship between foundations and non-profits. We all know that its broken. So why haven't we fixed it? Enter the Unicorns. Join unicorns Jane Leu, Vu Le, and Jessamyn Shams-Lau for a nitty-gritty, inside look at how foundations and non-profits relate today, and why we're stuck in the status quo. Next, get ready for a rocket-ship ride to a future filled with EPIC Partnerships grounded in equality, trust, and creativity; partnerships to help us think bigger, bolder, and better about social change. Finally, make it happen! Roll up your sleeves and dive into a series of fun and thought-provoking exercises for you to do and discuss with your team, your partners, and your board. This is a whimsical journey through a challenging conversation that could hold the key to slaying the dragons of injustice and inequity once and for all.
£17.05
Zone Books Contemporary States of Emergency: The Politics of
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£19.80
Zone Books Contemporary States of Emergency: The Politics of
Book Synopsis
£19.80
Zone Books Sensible Politics: The Visual Culture of
Book Synopsis
£31.50
Rutgers University Press Implementing Inequality: The Invisible Labor of
Book SynopsisImplementing Inequality argues that the international development industry’s internal dynamics—between international and national staff, and among policy makers, administrators, and implementers—shape interventions and their outcomes as much as do the external dynamics of global political economy. Through an ethnographic study in postwar Angola, the book demonstrates how the industry’s internal social pressures guide development’s methods and goals, introducing the innovative concept of the development implementariat: those in-country workers, largely but not exclusively “local” staff members, charged with carrying out development’s policy prescriptions. The implementariat is central to the development endeavor but remains overlooked and under-supported as most of its work is deeply social, interactive, and relational, the kind of work that receives less recognition and support than it deserves at every echelon of the industry. If international development is to meet its larger purpose, it must first address its internal inequalities of work and professional class. Trade Review"Lower wages for local employees, sexism and racism in their own ranks: development organizations are not free from power relations that they actually want to abolish. Experts and employees repeatedly criticize the inequality within aid organizations. With her large-scale field study on a democratization project in Angola, anthropologist Rebecca Warne Peters makes a contribution to the debate. Above all, she reveals the balance of power between project staff and administrative employees."— welt-sichten “Implementing Inequality is a rare book that comes alive in the best tradition of ethnographic description while building solid theory. Peters' rich account humanizes people in the "implementariat" and their daily challenges, struggles, and decisions. Ultimately hopeful, Implementing Inequality reminds us that frontline workers are already policymakers whose experience can guide a still-possible transformative development.”— Mark Schuller, author of Humanitarian Aftershocks in Haiti "Implementing Inequality is a useful read for both students and development professionals. It could serve as a trigger for self-reflection and urges better practices and greater understanding within the sector."— LSE US Centre American Politics and Policy blog “This is a timely and well-judged analysis of the ‘internal inequalities’ that exist at the heart of the project of international development. In a thoughtful and highly readable account of a governance program in Angola, Rebecca Warne Peters combines original theoretical insight with careful empirical analysis.”— David Lewis, author of Non-Governmental Organizations, Management and Development " Applying currently fashionable concepts with a modicum of theoretical baggage, Peters examines, in anthropological detail, international development, “the purposeful pursuit of social change,” as it is carried out by the implementariate who seek to fulfill the wishes of policy makers, consultants, and donors. Well written and well organized, this is an important contribution to the literature on the intersection of international development and anthropology. Highly recommended." — ChoiceTable of ContentsGlossary of Terms and Acronyms Introduction Inside the Encounter: The Implementariat Implementation as Internal and External “Social Work” Good Governance as “Development” in Angola Research Methods and Chapter Sketches Chapter 1: Development Hierarchies The Development Industry and Development Ideology Professional Inequalities Principal-Agent Thinking and Development’s Common Sense “Shadow Work” in Development Development Work and “Making Policy” Chapter 2: Development’s Inputs and Outputs “Technically Skilled GGAP Staff…” “… and Sufficient Support” Inputs and Outputs Invisible Development Work, Invisible Development Workers Chapter 3: Reinforcing Hierarchies: Monitoring and Evaluation Monitoring and Evaluation Instruments and Tools “Quality” Data The “Lopsided Structures” of International Development Chapter 4: Designing Interventions for Peers, Not Beneficiaries Development’s Peerage Interventions Designed for Peers, not Places Sites Known and Unknown: Seeing Like a Donor Reputations at Risk Absence and Inequality in Development Intervention Chapter 5: Partnership and the Development Praxiscape Founding Partnerships The Development “We” “Battling” Toward Governance Partners or Proprietors? Partnership as Development Praxis Conclusion: Development Without Borders Shadow Work out of the Shadows Expanding Principal-Agent Thinking Tomorrow’s Development Acknowledgments Appendix: GGAP Logical Framework Notes Bibliography Index
£27.20
Rutgers University Press Implementing Inequality: The Invisible Labor of
Book SynopsisImplementing Inequality argues that the international development industry’s internal dynamics—between international and national staff, and among policy makers, administrators, and implementers—shape interventions and their outcomes as much as do the external dynamics of global political economy. Through an ethnographic study in postwar Angola, the book demonstrates how the industry’s internal social pressures guide development’s methods and goals, introducing the innovative concept of the development implementariat: those in-country workers, largely but not exclusively “local” staff members, charged with carrying out development’s policy prescriptions. The implementariat is central to the development endeavor but remains overlooked and under-supported as most of its work is deeply social, interactive, and relational, the kind of work that receives less recognition and support than it deserves at every echelon of the industry. If international development is to meet its larger purpose, it must first address its internal inequalities of work and professional class. Trade Review“This is a timely and well-judged analysis of the ‘internal inequalities’ that exist at the heart of the project of international development. In a thoughtful and highly readable account of a governance program in Angola, Rebecca Warne Peters combines original theoretical insight with careful empirical analysis.” -- David Lewis * author of Non-Governmental Organizations, Management and Development *“Implementing Inequality is a rare book that comes alive in the best tradition of ethnographic description while building solid theory. Peters' rich account humanizes people in the "implementariat" and their daily challenges, struggles, and decisions. Ultimately hopeful, Implementing Inequality reminds us that frontline workers are already policymakers whose experience can guide a still-possible transformative development.” -- Mark Schuller * author of Humanitarian Aftershocks in Haiti *" Applying currently fashionable concepts with a modicum of theoretical baggage, Peters examines, in anthropological detail, international development, “the purposeful pursuit of social change,” as it is carried out by the implementariate who seek to fulfill the wishes of policy makers, consultants, and donors. Well written and well organized, this is an important contribution to the literature on the intersection of international development and anthropology. Highly recommended." * Choice *"Implementing Inequality is a useful read for both students and development professionals. It could serve as a trigger for self-reflection and urges better practices and greater understanding within the sector." * LSE US Centre American Politics and Policy blog *"Lower wages for local employees, sexism and racism in their own ranks: development organizations are not free from power relations that they actually want to abolish. Experts and employees repeatedly criticize the inequality within aid organizations. With her large-scale field study on a democratization project in Angola, anthropologist Rebecca Warne Peters makes a contribution to the debate. Above all, she reveals the balance of power between project staff and administrative employees." * welt-sichten *Table of ContentsGlossary of Terms and Acronyms Introduction Inside the Encounter: The Implementariat Implementation as Internal and External “Social Work” Good Governance as “Development” in Angola Research Methods and Chapter Sketches Chapter 1: Development Hierarchies The Development Industry and Development Ideology Professional Inequalities Principal-Agent Thinking and Development’s Common Sense “Shadow Work” in Development Development Work and “Making Policy” Chapter 2: Development’s Inputs and Outputs “Technically Skilled GGAP Staff…” “… and Sufficient Support” Inputs and Outputs Invisible Development Work, Invisible Development Workers Chapter 3: Reinforcing Hierarchies: Monitoring and Evaluation Monitoring and Evaluation Instruments and Tools “Quality” Data The “Lopsided Structures” of International Development Chapter 4: Designing Interventions for Peers, Not Beneficiaries Development’s Peerage Interventions Designed for Peers, not Places Sites Known and Unknown: Seeing Like a Donor Reputations at Risk Absence and Inequality in Development Intervention Chapter 5: Partnership and the Development Praxiscape Founding Partnerships The Development “We” “Battling” Toward Governance Partners or Proprietors? Partnership as Development Praxis Conclusion: Development Without Borders Shadow Work out of the Shadows Expanding Principal-Agent Thinking Tomorrow’s Development Acknowledgments Appendix: GGAP Logical Framework Notes Bibliography Index
£107.20
Lit Verlag Becoming More of What We Are: The Awareness of
Book Synopsis
£25.65
Transcript Verlag Transboundary Cooperations in Rwanda:
Book SynopsisHow is transnational cooperation practically conducted in the East African country of Rwanda, and how is it organised? Can the worlds of development aid and private business be compared? In this ethnography, Robin Pohl identifies the organisational patterns used by Rwandan, European and Indian partners. Different types of agencies, companies or projects each relate foreign activities differently to their local environment. The effects of potential divisions at the global level turn into assets or liabilities on the operative level of transboundary cooperations, depending on their context.
£38.24
Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft OSCE Yearbook 2012: Yearbook on the Organization
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£68.25
Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft Indonesia's Civil Society in the Age of
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£43.50
Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft Still a Century of Corporatism?: Models of
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£31.50
Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft Times of Uncertainty: National Policies and
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£72.00
Verlag Barbara Budrich Girls’ education in Bangladesh: Lessons from NGOs
Book SynopsisHow do NGOs influence the promotion of gender equality in education in Bangladesh? What do they achieve and which challenges are they confronted with in local contexts? The author provides insights regarding three non-formal primary education programmes.
£16.16
Verlag Barbara Budrich Doing Democracy Differently: Political Practices
Book SynopsisTransnational civil society networks have become increasingly important democratizing actors in global politics. Still, the exploration of democracy in such networks remains conceptually and methodologically challenging. Practice theory provides a framework to study democracy as routinized performances even in contexts of fluid boundaries, temporal relations and a diffuse constituency. The author attempts to understand how new forms of democratic practice emerge in the interaction between political actors and their structural environments.Table of ContentsFigures Tables Abbreviations Abstract Introduction Part I Conceptual Foundations of Democratic Practice in Transnational Civil Society Networks 1 Participatory Democracy 1.1 The Theoretical Foundations of Participatory Democracy 1.2 The Triad of Participation, Equality and Freedom 1.3 From System Change to Integration: Participatory Democracy vis-a-vis State and Society 1.4 The Prospects of Participatory Democracy for Transnational Civil Society Networks 1.4.1 A Model for Participatory Transnational Democracy: Global Stakeholder Democracy 1.4.2 Internal Democracy in Civil Society Groups 2 Democratic Representation 2.1 The Roots of Democratic Representation 2.2 Democratic Norms and Forms of Representation 2.2.1 Representation as Description 2.2.2 The Representative's Freedom 2.3 The Prospects of Non-electoral Representation for Transnational Civil Society Networks 2.3.1 Holding Representatives Accountable by a Blurred Constituency 2.3.2 Trust as a Basis for Unelected Representatives 2.3.3 The Substantive Practice of Representation 3 Deliberative Democracy 3.1 The Epistemic Perspective on Deliberation 3.1.1 Valid Norms and Enlightened Decisions i- the Goals of Deliberation 3.1.2 Beyond Expert Rationality in Deliberation 3.2 The Participatory Claims of Deliberative Democracy 3.2.1 Shared Notions and Differences between Participatory and Deliberative Democracy 3.2.2 Pluralism and Impartiality in Deliberative Processes 3.3 The Prospects of Deliberative Democracy for Transnational Civil Society Networks 4 Democracy as Practice 4.1 Social Practices 4.2 Conceptualizing Democracy as Practice 4.3 Evaluation Criteria for Democratic Practice 4.3.1 Participation Practices 4.3.2 Deliberation Practices 4.3.3 Representation Practices Part II Democratic Practice in Two Transnational Civil Society Networks 5 Research Design 5.1 Methodological Assumptions of a Reconstructive Analysis 5.2 Case Selection 5.3 Qualitative Semi-structured Interviews 5.4 The Method of Reconstructive Analysis 6 Political Practices in Transnational Civil Society Networks i- An Exploration 6.1 A Campaign for Better Working Conditions in the Garment Industry: the CCC 6.2 A Network for Environmental Protection Worldwide: FoE 6.3 The Political Practices of Representation, Participation and Deliberation 6.3.1 Inside the transnational civil society networks: general perceptions 6.3.2 Participation Practices 6.3.3 Deliberation Practices 6.3.4 Representation Practices 6.3.5 Conclusions 7 How Democratic are the Political Practices Explored? 7.1 Participation Practices 7.2 Deliberation Practices 7.3 Representation Practices 8 Conclusions: Democracy in Contexts of Dissolving Boundaries References Annex
£40.76
Manohar Publishers and Distributors Government & NGO Interventions in Dryland
Book Synopsis
£45.00
Deep & Deep Publications Role of NGOs in Developing Countries
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£22.49
Isha Books Role of NGOs in Development of Social System
Book SynopsisNGOs play a crucial role in various aspects of society, from education to poverty alleviation. Despite limited decision-making authority, they have grown in influence globally, receiving support from governments and contributing to the United Nations. The book explores the forms, roles, and implications of NGOs in social development.
£16.69
World Health Organization A guide to establishing a national haemovigilance
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£20.50
World Health Organization Prevention de la Noyade: Guide Pratique
Book Synopsis
£34.20
World Health Organization Prevenir Los Ahogamientos: Guia Practica
Book Synopsis
£34.20
Amsterdam University Press Rethinking Civil Society in Transition:
Book SynopsisThis book illustrates the results of ethnographical research designed to shed light on the notion of civil society in a context characterized by the transformation of power relations. Such transformation is given by shifting resources, renewed local and international opportunities, and a general reframing of goals and objectives. The academic literature has usually relied on a substantialist understanding of the notion of civil society – referring to the latter as something that exists a priori or does something. This volume relies, instead, on a relational approach – where civil society becomes the name we give to a host of complex interactions in which local associations are involved in a time of reconfiguration of power relations. Building on this approach, this volume analyses the relational dynamics affecting Tunisian associations after the fall of the authoritarian regime in 2011 and their implications for the changing political order. Findings show two main interrelated trends: the nationwide professionalization of local associations and the localized networking strategies of various socio-political categories crossing the associational sector. The book shows how their members understand the standardization of local associations as a strategy to have guaranteed access to the public sphere and, therefore, to influence the changing political order.Table of ContentsList of abbreviations List of illustrations Preface Introduction: leveling the playing field 1. Unpacking the Notion of Civil Society 2. Studying Civil Society in Transition Through a (Strategic) Relational Approach 3. Mobilizing for Development in Post-authoritarian Tunisia 4. Research Design and Methods: The Challenges of Grounded Theory 5. Structure of the Book PART I CIVIL SOCIETY IN TRANSITION: RECASTING THE ARENA OF POWER RELATIONS Chapter 1: State–society relations before and after the Revolution Chapter 2: Civil society and politics after 2011 Chapter 3: From the global to the local: the tale of civil society promotion PART II: ASSOCIATIONS AS PLAYERS AND ARENAS Chapter 4: Associations as players Chapter 5: Civil society as an arena: networking strategies beyond hegemonic actors Conclusion: On associations’ permeability: doing politics through other means? Postfaction Appendix References
£101.65
Central European University Press Mobilizing Romani Ethnicity: Romani Political
Book SynopsisThe Roma issue is generally treated as a European matter. Indeed, the Roma are the largest European minority—their presence outside of Europe is a result of various waves of migration over the past four hundred years. Likewise, the stereotypes associated with the Roma—the problematized, stigmatized status of a “Gypsy” as well as the historical and contemporary manifestations of antigypsyism—are also of European origin. This book claims, however, that the perception of Roma being strictly a European issue is flawed, and that re-connecting the Roma issue globally represents an important learning experience and an added value. The book offers a critical exploration of Romani political activism in Colombia and Argentina, and compares it to that in Spain, narrated from the intimate perspective of Romani actors themselves. By outlining parallel lineages of Romani activism in three countries and on two continents, the author arrives at broad conclusions regarding the nature of ethnic mobilization. Mirga-Kruszelnicka proposes a new synergetic conceptualization of this multidirectional concept as an interplay between political opportunities, mobilizing structures, and frames of identity. Contributing to the vivid debate about the relationship between the researcher and the researched, the book also includes an original discussion of the positionality of scholars of Romani background.Table of ContentsFOREWORD by Ethel Brooks INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1. DEFINING ETHNIC MOBILIZATION – A SYNERGIC APPROACH Ethnic mobilization – a conceptual puzzle Defining ethnic mobilization Understanding Romani ethnic mobilization Framing Romani activism – literature overview Delineating Romani ethnic mobilization – actors and processes Defining Romani mobilizing structures Pro-Roma actors and Romani ethnic mobilization CHAPTER 2. POLITICAL OPPORTUNITIES – UNDERSTANDING THE BROADER CONTEXT Setting the scene: Ethnic mobilization in Europe and Latin America Roma as political subjects Roma in Europe and Latin America: Comparable cases? CHAPTER 3. ROMANI ETHNIC MOBILIZATION IN A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE. LOOKING INTO THE CASE-STUDY COUNTRIES Argentina, Colombia and Spain: majority contexts, minority struggles Reconstructing the genealogy of Romani presence In search of windows of political opportunity Anno Domini 2017 – Status of Roma CHAPTER 4. WHO IS DOING THE MOBILIZING? ANATOMY OF ROMANI ETHNIC MOBILIZATION THROUGH THE PRISM OF THE ACTORS Anatomy of a movement – birth and growth of Romani actors Argentina Panorama of Romani mobilizing structures: an overview Leadership and composition patterns Multiple voices: Between fragmentation and consolidation Rationale for ethnic mobilization CHAPTER 5. MOBILIZING FRAMES? IDENTITY AND INTERESTS INTERTWINED Identity and interests – and potential of collective agency Romani identity frames Romani frames of collective interest Mobilizing frames? Frame alignment and frame correspondence vis-à-vis Romani constituency CHAPTER 6. MOBILIZING ROMANI ETHNICITY FOR COLLECTIVE ACTION Targets of mobilization – why is this important? Targeting structures of power – external upward mobilization Building support and seeking allies – external sideways mobilization Internal mobilization – community as a resource? Conclusion CONCLUSIONS: MOBILIZING FOR CHANGE? LIMITS AND POTENTIAL OF ROMANI ETHNIC MOBILIZATION Roma issue as a global issue – importance of the trans-continental perspective Contributions to Romani Studies Romani agency in the world politics – possibilities and opportunities BIBLIOGRAPHY
£128.52
Academic Studies Press Empowering Women in Russia: Activism, Aid, and
Book SynopsisOriginally published in 2007, based on research conducted during 1996-1998, Julie Hemment’s engrossing study traces the development encounter through interactions between international foundation and Russian women’s groups during a decade of transformation. Prohibited from organizing independently under state socialism, women’s groups became a focus of attention in the post-Soviet period for foundations eager to promote participatory democracy, but the vision of the civil society that emerged (the “third sector”) was far from what Russian activists envisioned or what donor agencies promised. Drawing on ethnographic methods and participatory action research (PAR), Hemment tells the story of her introduction to and growing collaboration with members of the group Zhenskii Svet in the provincial city of Tver’. Her account offers an ethnographic perspective on the decade of the 1990s and the terrain of women’s independent organizing at that time – the openings, the sense of possibility these activists experienced, as well as the challenges they encountered.
£25.95
