GLOBAL CIVIL SOCIETY MOVEMENTS:
Dynamics in International Campaigns and National Implementation

This Philippine country study is part of a larger project of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, entitled “Global Civil Society Movements: Dynamics in International Campaigns and National Implementation,” which seeks to understand two key aspects of contemporary global civil society movements: (1) their structure, institutional values, and practices and how these affected the emergence of robust transnational movements of citizens and civil society organizations; and (2) their outcomes and impact in national and local contexts. The project’s interest is not merely to illustrate the success or failure of the global movements in question. It also seeks to explain why different trajectories lead to different results, despite the fact that many of these movements enjoy considerable popular legitimacy. Another key area of interest is the economic and political implications of their proposals.

While numerous events have already shown the potency of global civil society movements in influencing transnational political processes, critical issues and questions relating to their sustainability, organizational qualities, and effectiveness need to be urgently addressed. In this project, five contemporary civil society movements are examined:

1. Campaigns for debt relief,
2. Movement to change international trade rules and barriers,
3. Global taxation initiative,
4. International anti-corruption movement, and
5. Movement on fair trade.

(Photo credit: Global Network-Asia, http://www.globalnetwork-asia.org)