Handbook of Civil Society and Social Movements in Small States

405 Pages·2023·11.351 MB·English

by  Lino Briguglio, Michael Briguglio, Sheila Bunwaree, Claire Slatter

Handbook of Civil Society and
Social Movements in Small States
This volume is unique because of its focus on small states. There are many studies on civil society and
social movements, but none that specifically deal with this category of countries. As is well known,
small states have particular characteristics, including a limited ability to reap the benefits of economies
of scale, a high degree of exposure to forces outside their control, and the proximity of politicians to
the voters, often leading to clientelistic relationships and patronage networks. The small island devel-
oping states have the additional problem of high environmental vulnerability, with some also dealing
with disproportionate ecological footprints. These factors have a bearing on the organization and per-
formance of civil society organizations and social movements, as explained in several chapters of this book.
The volume is organized in three parts, dealing with aspects of civil society and social moments in
small states in the political, social and environmental spheres, respectively. Various definitions of civil
society are proposed in the chapters, but most authors associate the term with organized groups,
operating in the interest of citizens, independently of government and commercial business, including
various forms of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Civil society also encompasses social
movements, which are considered to be loosely organized collective campaigns in pursuit of social goals.
These two terms are sometimes used interchangeably; however, some authors argue that social move-
ments tend to engage in ‘contentious politics’ including protests, while NGOs engage through more
organized and institutional routes.
Lino Briguglio is a Professor of Economics and a member of the board of the Islands and Small States
at the University of Malta. He has authored several publications on small states.
Michael Briguglio is a senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of Malta. He
has published various scholarly works on environmental sociology, social movements and politics.
Sheila Bunwaree is a scholar-activist with two decades of teaching and research experience. She has
published extensively in the field of gender, governance and development.
Claire Slatter is a retired academic and an active scholar-activist. She taught politics at the University
of the South Pacific, and ethics at Fiji National University. She is a founding member of the global
South feminist network of scholar-activists, Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era
(DAWN).
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Handbook of Civil Society and Social Movements in Small States
Edited by Lino Briguglio, Michael Briguglio, Sheila Bunwaree and Claire Slatter
Handbook of Civil Society
and Social Movements in
Small States
Edited by Lino Briguglio, Michael Briguglio,
Sheila Bunwaree and Claire Slatter
Cover image: © Shutterstock
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 selection and editorial matter, Lino Briguglio, Michael Briguglio, Sheila Bunwaree
and Claire Slatter; individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Lino Briguglio, Michael Briguglio, Sheila Bunwaree and Claire Slatter to be
identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual
chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-032-37714-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-37715-5 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-34153-6 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003341536
Typeset in Bembo
by Taylor & Francis Books
Contents
List of illustrations viii
The editors and contributors x
List of abbreviations and acronyms xvii
Introduction: Civil society and social movements in small states 1
Lino Briguglio, Michael Briguglio, Sheila Bunwaree and and Claire Slatter
PART I
Environmental issues 11
1 Civil society and the pursuit of sustainable tourism in the small island
jurisdiction of Tobago 13
Acolla Lewis-Cameron and Tenisha Brown-Williams
2 Engagement of civic organizations in environmental policies in Cabo Verde 26
José Maria Gomes Lopes
3 Network governance and the role of environmental non-governmental
organizations in Belize 46
Ruth Gutierrez-Corley, Allanson Cruickshank and Stefano Moncada
4 Environmental protest in Malta during the COVID-19 pandemic 62
Michael Briguglio
5 The politics of land, space, social movements and identity in Jamaica’s
Cockpit Country 74
Jordan K. Williams
6 Deep-sea mining in Pacific small island developing states: The role of
civil society organizations 93
Viliame Kasanawaqa, Asinate Namuaira and Solo Mara
Contents
7 A post-eruption analysis of the significance and challenges of community-
based disaster risk management in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 105
Allanson Cruickshank, Rose-Ann Smith, Sanya Compton and Aria Laidlow
PART II
Social issues 121
8 Civil society, the state and the LGBTQIA+ movement: The case of
Trinidad and Tobago and Mauritius 123
Andel Andrew, Lue Anda Francis-Blackman and Nandini Tanya Lallmon
9 Weaving ‘culture’ and political advocacy in a small island nation: Samoa
Fa’afafine Association and non-heteronormative Samoans 138
Yoko Kanemasu and Asenati Liki
10 The role of civil society actors in responding to gender-based violence
in Seychelles 151
Diana Benoit
11 The Refugee and Migrant Response Plan in the Caribbean Sub-Region:
Emerging patterns and lessons for small state civil society in global
migration governance 162
Lara-Zuzan Golesorkhi
12 Shrinking spaces for migrant-support CSOs in Malta, Cyprus and
Slovenia: From the refugee crisis to the pandemic 174
Dominik Kalweit and William Grech
13 The role of churches in regional cooperation and governance in the
Caribbean 189
Jessica Byron and Annita Montoute
14 Information and communication technologies as a catalyst for social
activism and ‘bottom-up’ regionalism in the Pacific 204
Jason Titifanue and Romitesh Kant
15 The dilemmas of civil society and social movements in a rapidly growing
economy: Botswana 219
David Sebudubudu and Patrick Molutsi
vi
Contents
PART III
Political issues 233
16 Estonian protest waves: Groups involved and motivating issues 235
Katrin Uba
17 The strength of civil society in Slovenia after three decades of
post-communist experience 248
Tatjana Rakar and Tomaž Deželan
18 The role of civil society in Montenegro’s European Union
accession process 262
Igor Lukši´c and Aleksandar Andrija Pejovi´c
19 The democratic potential of politically and socially oriented CSOs:
The case of North Macedonia 274
Milka Ivanovska Hadjievska
20 How civil society organizations brought change to the Maltese
government between 2019 and 2020 288
Mario Thomas Vassallo, Jean Claude Cachia and André P. DeBattista
21 Explosion of anger on the streets of Mauritius: The overhauling of a
political system? 302
Sheila Bunwaree
22 Significant regional social movements in Oceania 314
Vijay Naidu and Claire Slatter
23 Nostalgia for the future: Student activism of the Caribbean Left 332
Amílcar Peter Sanatan
24 Unfrozen conflicts: Social movements and civil society in Cyprus 344
Michalis Moutselos
Index 357
vii
Illustrations
Figures
2.1 Extent of ECSOs’ cooperation with the central government 38
2.2 The influence of ECSOs on PANA II 40
2.3 ECSOs’ influence on specific environmental policies, programmes or legislation 40
4.1 Specific issues leading to environmental protests 65
4.2 Organizers of environmental protests in Malta, 2020 66
4.3 Moviment Graffitti environmental protest networks, 2020 67
4.4 FAA’s environmental protest networks, 2020 68
4.5 Extinction Rebellion Malta’s environmental protest networks, 2020 69
4.6 The Maltese farmers’ environmental protest networks, 2020 69
4.7 Protest issues in Malta, 2020 70
5.1 Reference map of Jamaica 76
7.1 Map of the area of study 106
16.1 The annual number of protest events and average protest size 240
16.2 The main issues raised by protests during the course of three decades 242
16.3 The main issues raised by protests over the course of three decades 244
17.1 The increase in the number of CSOs in Slovenia between 1965 and 2020* 250
17.2 CSOs’ primary fields of activity 252
17.3 Share of civil society sector employees in the labour force 253
17.4 Main sources of funding for Slovenian CSOs, 2022 254
17.5 Percentage of CSOs invited to cooperate by national and local governments 256
17.6 The extent of CSOs’ willingness to engage with the authorities 257
17.7 The overall influence of civil society on policymaking in Slovenia 257
17.8 How would you describe the relationship between the state and civil society
in Slovenia? 258
19.1 Respondent CSOs (%) classified by annual budget size 279
19.2 Distribution of different types of CSOs per primary area of geographical
operation (%) 280
19.3 The share of CSOs in which members make authoritative decisions in key areas
of governance (%) 281
19.4 Ways in which members participate in decision-making across CSO types (%) 281
19.5 Importance assigned to the participation by members in CSOs’ activities
(averages on a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5, where 5 shows the
highest importance) 282
19.6 The share of CSOs engaged in outsider and insider strategies of influence (%) 283
List of illustrations
Tables
2.1 ECSOs’ access to political authorities (17 responses out of 19) 30
2.2 ECSOs’ alliance partnership 32
2.3 The conservation, protection and sustainable development frame 33
2.4 The environmental injustice frame 34
2.5 Funds transferred to local associations by the DGASP (figures in
Cabo Verde escudos) 36
2.6 Significance of partners’ donations on ECSOs’ project implementation 36
2.7 Linkages between the government and ECSOs 37
2.8 ECSOs’ strategies and activities for engagement 38
2.9 List of ECSOs interviewed 42
3.1 Summary of participants, types of ENGO and their conservation goals 52
7.1 Summary of the organizational features of the four CBOs representing
civil society 110
7.2 Meeting frequency of CBOs 112
15.1 Estimated number of CSOs in Botswana, 2021 225
15.2 NGOs Policy objectives, challenges, interventions and expected
outcomes, 2012 229
18.1 Participatory model of CSOs in candidate countries 267
18.2 Participatory model of CSOs in former candidate countries 268
19.1 Core organizational resources and age of each type of CSO (averages) 279
20.1 Mass mobilization by CSOs (2019–2020) 295
20.2 Effect of actions by CSOs 298
20.3 Levels of trust and scepticism 298
Box
7.1 Breakdown in the relationship of groups and NEMO following the eruption of
the Soufrière volcano 114
ix