This book has emerged out of a long interest in the general topic of the role of civil society actors as agents of democratization beyond the nation-state as well as the more specific issue of transnational activism in Southeast Asia. It began as part of my work within the research program TRANSDEMOS (Democracy beyond the Nation-State? Transnational Actors and Global Governance) coordinated by...

ACMW

Political decisions with fundamental implications for a large number of people are increasingly taken in governance arrangements beyond the nation-state. There has been a steady growth in the number of international organizations (IOs) composed primarily by sovereign states. The Union of International Associations’ database now lists more than 3000 IO bodies (Union of International...

In this chapter I develop the analytical tools for the empirical analysis. Drawing on previous research on civil society, social movements, transnational activism, and democratization, the analytical framework has three main components: political opportunities, inside and outside civil society advocacy, and the political liberalization of IOs. I elaborate each of these three themes and how they...

This chapter provides an overview of political opportunities for civil society activism on the national level across Southeast Asia. The aim is neither to generalize about political conditions in a very diverse region, nor to suggest innovative theoretical interpretations of civil society in Southeast Asia. The more modest aim is to further our understanding of civil society activism targeting...

Having analyzed nation-level political opportunities for civil society activism throughout Southeast Asia in the previous chapter, I now turn to an in-depth analysis of political opportunities for civil society engagement with ADB and ASEAN. First, however, general international political opportunities for transnational civil society advocacy in Southeast Asia will be briefly assessed. The...

The previous chapter analyzed political opportunities for civil society advocacy in terms of the institutional design of ADB and ASEAN. Now we move from that IO-centered perspective to a civil society perspective, examining civil society strategies and activities. This chapter begins with a general overview of the development of civil society engagement with ADB and ASEAN. Then, the most...

Following the comparative analysis of political opportunities and civil society strategies related to ADB and ASEAN in the previous chapters, this chapter offers a more in-depth analysis of civil society influence on ADB in terms of liberalizing impact. The chapter starts with a general overview of civil society influence on ADB, with a particular focus on the views of civil society activists...

In the same way as the previous chapter offered a more in-depth analysis of civil society influence on ADB in terms of liberalizing impact, this chapter deals with ASEAN. It begins with a general discussion of civil society influence on ASEAN, with a particular focus on the views of civil society activists themselves. The following sections highlight what are arguably the four most significant...

In this concluding chapter I summarize the main findings of this study and elaborate further on comparisons across the two cases of ADB and ASEAN. I also consider implications for research on civil society activism in Southeast Asia as well as for research on civil society and democracy beyond the nation-state.

Abbott, Jason,2.18 ,

Anders Uhlin is professor of political science at Lund University. His main research focuses on civil society activism, problems of democratization, and global and regional governance institutions. Recent publications include Demanding Justice in the Global South: Claiming Rights, Palgrave 2016 (coedited with Jean Grugel, Jewellord Nem Singh, and...