ABSTRACT This study analyses the impact of international labour migration on civic engagement in two ethnically and culturally diverse local communities in Poland. Within the broader debate on the social consequences of migration for sending communities, the research employs in-depth interviews with migrants and experts to explore both formal (participation in local elections, membership in non-governmental organizations and local institutions) and informal (community initiatives, spontaneous social actions) dimensions of civic life. The findings indicate that labour migration contributes to the withdrawal of active community members, thereby disrupting the continuity of civic organizations and diminishing the overall level of civic participation. The study identifies two interrelated mechanisms through which international labour migration weakens civic engagement in migrants’ communities of origin. The first, social-organisational discontinuity, results from the departure of active members and the social distancing of returnees. The second, intergroup boundary closure, reinforces existing ethnic and cultural divisions, particularly in heterogeneous environments. Taken together, these mechanisms demonstrate how migration reshapes local social structures, revealing the moderating role of historical, socio-economic, and cultural contexts.

ABSTRACT This paper is concerned with the engagement of migrant youth in urban civil society in Antwerp. More particularly, we analyse a small group of migrant youth whose actions in urban civil society can be characterized as ‘institutional entrepreneurship’, a process by which new institutions are created or existing institutions transformed. In order to better understand why and how some migrant youth engage in institutional entrepreneurship in civil society, we combine this institutionalist reading of civil society engagement with ‘racialized organization theory’, which argues that CSOs are not race-neutral. Based on in-depth interviews with migrant youth who act as institutional entrepreneurs, we find that migrant youth frequently experience frustration with the racialized structures of civil society organizations and try to challenge the racialized structures in established CSOs by creating their own initiatives. Our findings show that due to racialized practices in established civil society organization some migrant youth experience their position in civil society as peripheral, which motivates them to set up new organizations and thus innovate the broader field of urban civil society.

ABSTRACT How do civic associations devoted to community-based adult education enhance the presence and impacts of broader-level social movements in democratic societies? This article utilizes the concepts of ‘free space’ and ‘pathways of participation’ to investigate how the educational actions deployed by several women’s associations in the southern Netherlands generate strategic connections to the feminist and women’s movements. Drawing on a qualitative case study, attention is placed on four types of educational action that produce pathways of participation to social movements: raising public awareness, promoting emancipatory literacy, building solidarity, and stimulating transformative action. By way of conclusion, future avenues of research are suggested to promote scholarship on the nexus of social movements and community-based adult education.

ABSTRACT This study focuses on two civil society coalitions advocating for sustainability transitions in the European Union (EU): the EU Food Policy Coalition and the less formally-organized coalition around the Blue Manifesto, both of which are understood in this article as intermediaries who connect local and national actors, activities, and ideas to the EU policy process. Using data collected through semi-structured interviews and drawing on frameworks developed by the literature on sustainability transitions, we provide a theoretically-informed discussion of these coalitions, analyzing their orientations, goals, and uniting frames. We find that these coalitions use a just transition frame that combines social as well as environmental dimensions and integrates the agendas of civil society groups within each coalition that focus on environmental goals with those of other groups that focus on broader social justice goals. Relatedly, these coalitions call for greater policy integration across social and environmental policy areas. Additionally, we find that sustainability transitions in the EU context are understood by the coalitions to entail not only significant shifts in policy, but also a commitment to a process that is more democratic and participatory. Finally, we find that in the context of multi-level governance, coalitions advocating for sustainability transitions involve Brussels-based organizations that focus on policy advocacy as well as national-level organizations that engage the general public. This article contributes to the literature two case studies that extend the theoretical formulations developed to study sustainability transitions to the transnational context, which has not been sufficiently explored in the sustainability transitions literature.

ABSTRACT How enabled is civil society in the Philippines’ local environmental management scene? A systematic review with predetermined criteria identified 21 studies that describe the contributing roles of civil society organizations (CSOs) in their environmental initiatives. The review reveals that CSOs in the Philippines take roles as Advocate, Giver, Mediator, and Partner. Key enabling indicators influencing their effectiveness include their ability in providing mutual benefits, engaging operationally, resolving conflicts proactively, adapting to dynamic settings, incorporating local knowledge, building social trust, and harmonizing stakeholder knowledge. Despite their strong potential, CSOs in the country face challenges such as divergent stakeholder interests, bureaucratic weaknesses, community unacceptability, weak local tourism control, biodiversity blind spots, and legal resistance. Understanding the dynamics of CSO engagement leverages their strengths while addressing their barriers to realize their full potential as actors in local environmental management. This study provides valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners seeking to enhance CSO engagement in the Philippines and within the broader discourse of sustainable development in the Global South.

ABSTRACT This article explores the challenges experienced by civil society organizations (CSOs) in Croatia, as magnified during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the strategies they use to mitigate their effects. ‘Organisational resilience' is discussed based on interviews with CSO representatives from four fields: contemporary arts and culture, environmental protection, women's rights, and educational/youth organizations. Three themes are developed: the ‘normality' of crisis, established practices of resilience, and emergent practices of resilience. Although the pandemic was experienced as a major disruption, there is a lingering sense of persistent crisis in the civil society sector which is constituted by many tribulations: wars and economic crises, piercing insecurity due to lack of stable funding and an antagonistic political climate. Established practices of resilience that help organizations stay afloat encapsulate financial ingenuity, caring about one's work, and good relations within and outside of the organization. Emergent practices include strengthening technology infrastructure and use, establishing a trade union for CSO workers, but also charging for services. The advocacy role of CSOs seems dimmed and their ability to help others comes at the expense of their founding values and personal wellbeing. This suggests a ‘dark’ side to organizational resilience, a concept frequently used to signal a positive ability.

ABSTRACT The traditional narrative on state-civil society relations in the consolidated authoritarian regimes of Central Asia is one of coercion with little room for independent NGOs which challenge the states’ discourse. There is however emerging evidence of a gradual shift in relationships. First, the distinction between independent organizations (NGOs) and government organized bodies (GONGOs) is becoming blurred as the former struggle to remain financially buoyant and the latter find (limited) opportunities to influence the state. Second, the role played by international donors in authoritarian regimes is fraught with obstacles/resistance making internal civil society organizations more self-reliant and the state grants’ application process more competitive. Third, the context is changing with a younger more assertive generation willing to challenge the vestiges of the Soviet era. Using Kazakhstan as a Central Asian case study, this article finds there is an increasing role for civil society along an NGO-GONGO continuum aimed at ‘challenging existing realities’ even within the parameters of authoritarian states.

ABSTRACT Covid-19 has a significant impact on societies and individuals but also on organizations. Using a survey and focus group discussions, this article examines (perceptions of) Covid-19’s impact on the Southern NGO partners of Dutch INGOs in the context of international development. The analysis explores how Covid-19 has affected Southern NGOs’ (SNGOs) organizational capacity and relations with donors. This article finds that Covid-19 has had substantial and largely negative consequences on SNGOs’ financial situation, staffing, and activities. Furthermore, the findings suggest that Covid-19 contributed (at least temporarily) to more equal relations between Southern NGOs and donors. The results emphasize the need for donors, including INGOs, to offer financial safety nets to ensure that SNGOs remain operational when crises hit and the need for both sides to keep up the momentum to shift the power relation.

ABSTRACT This article explores the positions of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) on providing humanitarian assistance to European Union (EU) citizens with limited rights to public welfare services in Norway through 19 interviews with leaders of humanitarian services run by CSOs in Oslo. The article shows a contradictory picture. On one side, leaders expressed awareness and concern regarding risks associated with the provision of humanitarian services in a country with a comprehensive and ambitious welfare state. These include creating parallel welfare services based on charity rather than rights, and that such services may hide structural violence, or give it a humane façade, thus potentially contributing to the legitimacy and preservation of exclusionary welfare policies and practices. On the other side, service leaders were sceptical towards granting all EU citizens equal access to public welfare benefits and services and reported advocating for the expansion of humanitarian services rather than inclusionary rights for all EU citizens in Norway. We suggest that this may indicate an acceptance of the EU’s principle of conditionality of welfare support on employment history, and a limited willingness or capacity of CSOs to engage in advocacy that could contribute to alternative narratives about EU citizenship and challenge structural exclusion.

ABSTRACT While the COVID-19 pandemic and state response negatively impact government and society alike, the need for public accountability and responsiveness, and the role of civil society in ensuring this has not declined. This article examines how the Covid-19 People’s Coalition in South Africa navigated lockdown restrictions to mobilize civil society for participation in governance by demanding effective, just, transparent and responsive COVID-19 policy and practice. Based on analysis of over 40 public statements, the article shows a predominantly negative sentiment in the Covid-19 Coalition’s reaction to South Africa’s COVID-19 response. Government response was primarily assessed as inadequate, exclusive, anti-poor and vulnerable, violent, and prioritizing socioeconomic concerns that are removed from the realities of the masses. The Coalition offers an example of innovative, people-centered, contextual and bottom-up approach to civil participation. It spoke for the vulnerable and demanded accountable leadership, while highlighting longstanding challenges that have not been effectively addressed. Overlooking such problems undermines the government's ability to tackle crises and achieve good governance. It is recommended that the Coalition balances its criticism with more hands-on and constructive approaches such as exploring avenues for collaboration with government to achieve desired change.