This book explores civil societies with distinct characteristics in Asian countries and regions to redefine the dynamic and interconnected formation that is Asia.
This book documents how civil society organizations, such as charities and foundations, across Asia which have traditionally been observed to imitate or borrow the methods employed by Western nongovernmental organizations, have been developing distinctive relations with the state, inventing novel civic techniques. Furthermore, it highlights how such organizations have created a characteristic framework for governance and spaces for new social practices and reflections. Reflecting on the historical backgrounds, political systems, and cultural settings, each case study reveals the diverse and alternative approaches and solutions to various issues facing contemporary Asian society.
Studying the dynamism of Asia to highlight the emergence of new civil society practices this book will be a great interest to scholars and students of Asian Studies, Anthropology, Sociology & Political Science.
Introduction. Varieties of Civil Society Across Asia Part I: Challenges 1. Civic space and emergency powers in the time of the pandemic: The case of Thailand 2. On the verge of an economic collapse and an uprising: Changing character of Sri Lankan CSOs 3. Mobilizing for press freedom in Duterte’s Philippines: Conditions for success and its challenges Part II: Civic Techniques 4. Win a victory without a battle”: China’s crackdown on civil society in post-NSL Hong Kong 5. The shifting nature of transnational civil society in China: What have we learned? 6. Domestic violence, sex abuse, and civil society in Japan 7. Searching for self, searching for nation: New Bloom and belonging in Taiwan 8. Low hanging fruit: Asian migrant grassroots organizations and their views of the Global Compact on Migration Part III: Governance 9. Conceptualizing the role of civil society in Ganges-Brahmaputra basin governance 10. New forms of active citizen participation to regenerate cities: Systematic analysis of co-city literature and projects in Asia Part IV: New Societal Practices and Reflexive Space 11. Civil society and poverty: Contextual challenges in Cambodia 12. Japanese international NGOs in Asia: The reflexive outcomes of regional activism 13. Civil society and the state in making a wartime history: History of Japanese women repatriated from Manchuria
Akihiro Ogawa is Professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Anthony J. Spires is Associate Professor and Deputy Director of the Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies at the University of Melbourne, Australia.
