Global Civil Society and Democratization of World Politics: A Bona Fide Relationship or Illusory Liaison?
For over a decade, scholars have been studying and debating the role and influence of non-state actors in democratizing global politics. The sheer volume of studies calls for assessing the current state of this area of research. It also invites systematic analysis of differences in the collected evidence on outcomes of the democratizing efforts of global civil society associations. In this review, I (1) expound the concept of global civil society and point to definitional dilemmas surrounding this term; (2) propose a new analytical framework for examining an association between global civil society and democratization; (3) apply the proposed framework for assessing the findings of empirical studies; (4) discuss the nature of differences and the sources of discord in the analysts’ conclusions; and (5) make recommendations for advancing our knowledge in this important area of research. A principal theme that runs throughout this essay is that the field of global civil society and democratization has ample avenues for further conceptual, theoretical, and empirical work. Our ability to speak credibly of global civil society as a viable democratizing force would be improved with the development of empirical theory, conceptual elaboration, and more rigorous methodologies of research.