Civil society in democracy and new forma of governanceperspectives and actions in support of creating cultures of peace

Résumé

The purpose of this dissertation is to provide an overview of some of the emerging key issues and arguments that inform the study of transnational organizations embedded in the civil society discourse in the current global democratic regime. The intellectual puzzle addressed in this dissertation is on the influence of emerging transnational, with a special focus on interregional actors and how these affect, alter, or influence social and political landscapes, especially in the nonprofit realm. In addition, I would like to show how transnational/transregional actors influence governance. Of particular interest in this discussion is the emergence of GONGOs (Government Organized Non Governmental Organizations. The development of these entities I claim are indicators of the following: (1) transregionalist entities operating in the nonprofit which are manifestations of increasing global interdependence and connectivity; (2) the rise of transregionalist networks involving non-state actors have great potential to become effective tools in democracy promotion; (3) do not replace the state as a main actor, but on the other hand, they allow for venues for interaction on a social and cultural level, which are not possible on a government-to- government plane. Utilizing a mixed method approach, two case studies: the Asia Europe Foundation and the OPEC Fund for International Development will presented to dissect these phenomena.