New Actors on the Horizon: The International Outreach of Italian CSOs
Italian civil society organisations are holding more and more sway in the foreign policy arena, strengthening links with their counterparts both in the European Union and further abroad. Some well-organised groups are increasingly capable of wielding influence in the international scenario, mainly thanks to their initiatives directed at fuelling citizens’ interests in sensitive issues and fostering transnational cooperation. In parallel with these global trends, Italian civil society is going through a period of change and reassessment, shaken by the need to protect some core values to which it is undeniably attached.
Conflict society: understanding the role of civil society in conflict
This article analyses the relationship between civil society and conflict. It aims to provide an analytical framework to unpack this complex relationship and assess the impacts which civil society may have on conflict. In a first section, it analyses the implications of context on civil society, namely the implications that statehood, democracy, nationalism, development and international presence have on the nature of civil society. In the second section it examines more specifically the role of civil society in ethno-political conflicts, or as we rename it ‘conflict society’. The final section turns to the identification of different factors determining the impact of civil society on conflicts, including political identities, frameworks of action and political opportunity structures in which civil society actors operate. Accordingly, the different combinations of these determinants lead to the formation of civil society actors and ensuing actions that can either fuel conflict, sustain the status quo, or build peace.
Civil Society and Peacebuilding
Civil society organisations are present at all levels of contemporary peacebuilding. The international community has devoted substantial efforts towards building and strengthening the capacities of civil society actors, and harnessing their potential as peace actors. However, little systematic evidence-based research exists to provide policy-makers and practitioners with better knowledge about whether, how, when, and under what circumstances civil society can fulfil a peace-supporting role. This article is structured around three main questions: Who makes up civil society? What can civil society actors contribute to peacebuilding? And how best can civil society be involved in peacebuilding?