Civil+Society

Civil Society is a term for the global population in its various forms. This includes citizens as political actors in Governmental or Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs). The varying forms of collective activism form a global network capable of influencing large scale changes. For a list of NGOs, see http://www.ngo.org/index2.htm

Governmental organizations are often multi-national. They include the United Nations, the World Trade Organization (WTO), World Health Organization (WHO) etc. For a complete list go to: http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govpub/resource/internat/igo.html

The development of technology (particularly the Internet) has facilitated political communication worldwide. Global issues can be discussed in forums and citizens can be more informed. Arguably, this form of information dissemination is supporting democratic ideas worldwide and has the potential to minimize the democratic divide. Furthermore, new technologies have created a global viillage in which distances have become minimized for citizens across the globe and a more universal understanding of world politics, the environment, and human rights can be reached.

Discussion centered around political power of the civil society includes the digital divide as well as the extent of power of the nation-state over citizens. As a result of globalization there is reasonable evidence of the fact that the power of the nation-state has weakened and the overwhelming amount of decision-making stems from multinational corporations and multi-level organizations. This phenomenon is foreseen by Foucault's discourse on Panopticism and knowledge and power and results in an increased amount of societal surveillance.