Paper short abstract:

The main objective of the article will be to see if, as a state, Mozambique meets all the conditions contained in Barry Buzan's model, which consists of the physical basis of the state, the institutional dimension of the state, the idea of statehood, and sovereignty.

Paper long abstract:

The aim of this article is to present Mozambique's statehood in the context of Barry Buzan's model, taking into account the functioning of civil society in the country. The analysis aims to see what changes have taken place in the area of the functioning of this state between 1992 and 2015. The analysis was conducted in macroeconomic terms, but also referred to the living situation of the people of this state. The population of Mozambique was framed in two ways, as part of the physical base of the state and as part of the idea of the state in the form of civil society. The methods used to carry out the study were content analysis of source materials, studies, reports that dealt with the functioning of Mozambique, in the areas studied. The areas considered in the model were the physical base (territory and population), the institutional dimension (functioning of local and state institutions) and the idea of the state (language, ethnicity, the condition of civil society and the functioning of CSOs). The analysis shows that Mozambique, as a state, has remained dysfunctional since the beginning of its independent existence and has largely failed to fulfil the tasks set for any state. The lack of transformation of the social structure since the colonial era, but also the lack of independence at the different levels and the failed political and economic reforms, have led to a situation where Mozambique must be called a dysfunctional and fragile state.

Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the discourses and practices of donors and the civil society organisations they fund to show how accountability is performed to balance a donor-funded civic space that is simultaneously highly productive and precarious.

Paper long abstract:

Over the past two decades, donors have invested in pro-accountability programs and organisations to strengthen the Mozambican civic space. This paper explores the donor-funded civic space through the prism of accountability. I move the gaze from government institutions and public servants to focus on the discourses and practices of donors and the civil society organisations they fund. Drawing on interviews with representatives of pro-accountability donor programmes, intermediary civil society organisations and implementing partners, I show how accountability is performed to balance a donor-funded civic space that is simultaneously highly productive and precarious.

Paper short abstract:

The paper provides a case study to examine the various manifestations of civil society regarding the social stratification South African society faces. The study claims that civil society does not always deliver the desired results as the normative approach suggests, but may result in the opposite.

Paper long abstract:

Civil society has emerged as an essential contributor to the transition to democracy in South Africa and is often regarded as a decisive factor in combating corruption, promoting democracy, and fostering trust, tolerance, and unity in the country by opinion leaders, scholars, media, and opposing political parties. However, the conceptualisation of civil society as a single entity has received little critical view and empirical confirmation in the literature. Rather, most stakeholders of civil society have developed diverse practices, aims, and understandings of civil society due to their disparate socioeconomic positions, spatial separation, as well as ethnic, religious, or racial differences. Recognising that civil society cannot be reduced to civil society organisations (CSOs), this study provides a case study concentrating on formal and informal charitable and development organisations, which are an integral and vibrant component of South African daily life to question various theoretical variants. This paper examines how CSOs comprehend the concept of civil society considering prominent theoretical debates, along with how they relate to the concepts such as democracy, social cohesion, and citizenship. It investigates a case-study of CSOs with different organisational forms in Cape Town, using document analysis, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and a mini-survey of participants. Using this rich narrative data, the paper argues that, while CSOs play an important role in the development of democracy, active citizenship, and social formation quest in South Africa, they have also the ability to breed antidemocratic behaviour, xenophobia, or social divisions through approaching civil society through a context-dependent lens.

Paper short abstract:

We look at the discourses & practices of civil society (CS) from a postcolonial and political-economy perspective, focusing on the construction of the “civil” and “uncivil” in Mozambican society, unravelling how CS is defined by powerful nat. & int. actors accompanied by exclusionary processes.

Paper long abstract:

Focusing on Mozambique, we aim to question the dominant discourse and practices of civil society during decades of capitalist expansion, attempted democratization, massive push towards resource extraction and continued conflict, foregrounding the need for a more complex view and a postcolonial perspective of civil society do we want to support, both in theory and action, the further decolonization of discourse and development practices. We critically examine, from a Gramscian perspective, the way in which the concept has been deployed in development and political discourse. This highlights its normative and North-centric epistemology and influence on the construction of civil society, in which grassroots social interaction, faith-based and spiritual solidarity, as well as civil disobedience are seen as “uncivil”. The privileging of Western-type NGOs as drivers of democracy and participatory development in Mozambique, has not brought about the desirable reconciliation and above all, distribution of wealth, which, we argue, has contributed to the expanding war activities in the Northern Province of Cabo Delgado. This is followed by an overview of recent debates around the possibilities of an emerging civil society “from below” which emphasis power dynamics in the context of the political economy of democratization, development, war and beyond. The latter debate might have considerable implications for future discussions around the localization of development aid

Paper short abstract:

Desde 2017, em Cabo Delgado, gerou um desastre humanitário refletiu em centenas de milhares de famílias deslocadas e acolhedoras. Dai a pesquisa de acção participativa (PAR) com grupo alvo residentes em Nacala Porto, integra apoio psico-social, reconstrução de meios de vida e transferências socias.

Paper long abstract:

Desde 2017, em Cabo Delgado, gerou um desastre humanitário refletiu em centenas de milhares de famílias deslocadas e acolhedoras. Dai a pesquisa de acção participativa (PAR) com grupo alvo residentes em Nacala Porto, integra apoio psico-social, reconstrução de meios de vida e transferências socias. O objectivo é analisar o contributo da sociedade civil actual em Moçambique, baseado na pedagogia do Oprimido.

Problematização:

As narrativas, apresentadas levantam vários questionamentos, sobre que tipo de sociedade civil existente? Se o Governo e ONG’s nacionais e internacionais respondem aos anseios da comunidade? Ou se simplesmente, cuidam de seus interesses e dos interesses do estado? Através do Projecto PAR, encontrou-se vários questionamentos sobre os objectivos das ONG’s, hierarquias sociais, dinâmicas internas dos grupos de Bases, através de sistemas internos de autoajuda e resistência das comunidades, deslocadas e famílias acolhedoras, os quais gostaríamos de apresentar o discutir durante o panel. As comunidades olham estas estruturas comunitárias de forma desconfiante, pela forma de trabalhar com as populações locais.

Problema:

Será que a pesquisa acção participativa poderia apoiar na construção de uma sociedade civil através do Empoderamento comunitário e as abordagens botton up partindo de um modelo Africano? Quais oportunidades e desafios traz esta abordagem da pesquisa participativa em acção critica num contexto de conflito como e o caso do Norte de Moçambique.