This book establishes new theory and knowledge in the area of third sector organizations (TSOs) in Asia. Its purpose is to draw the attention of Asia's TSOs to the importance of good governance. The book documents a variety of approaches, and identifies socio-cultural, economic, and political dynamics and impacts of different models of TSO governance. The combined information from the contributions in this work will ensure the sustainability of TSOs throughout Asia.
In Social Economy in Asia: Realities and Perspectives, thirteen scholars from various academic disciplines analyze the reality and different understandings of the social economy in Asia. By providing detailed case studies, engaging in comparative and global discussions, and examining theoretical and policy-relevant implications, the contributors to this collection argue that the Asian social economy has uniquely benefited as a modern economic system with a human-centric approach.
The Routledge Handbook of Civil Society in Asia is an interdisciplinary resource, covering one of the most dynamically expanding sectors in contemporary Asia. Originally a product of Western thinking, civil society represents a particular set of relationships between the state and either society or the individual. Each culture, however, molds its own version of civil society, reflecting its most important values and traditions. This handbook provides a comprehensive survey of the directions and nuances of civil society, featuring contributions by leading specialists on Asian society from the fields of political science, sociology, anthropology, and other disciplines. Comprising thirty-five essays on critical topics and issues, it is divided into two main sections: Part I covers country specific reviews, including Japan, China, South Korea, India, and Singapore. Part II offers a series of thematic chapters, such as democratization, social enterprise, civic activism, and the media. As an analysis of Asian social, cultural, and political phenomena from the perspective of civil society in the post-World War IIera, this book will be useful to students and scholars of Asian Studies, Asian Politics, and Comparative Politics.
This is the first book to explore the different relationships between active citizenship and civil society, particularly the third sector within civil society. In what ways can the third sector nurture active citizenship? How have the third sector and active citizenship been constructed and reconstructed both locally and internationally, over recent years? To what extent have new kinds of social connectedness, changing forms of political engagement and increasingly complex social and environmental problems influenced civil society action? Written by experts in the field, this important book draws on a range of theory and empirical studies to explore these questions in different socio-political contexts and will be a useful resource for academics and students as well as practitioners.
Muslims for hundreds of years have been involved in philanthropic activities targeting poor and needy people through varied types of ‘third sector’ organizations (TSOs). Nonetheless, many people in Muslim majority countries (MMCs), not having freedom from hunger, face human security crises. Not much is known about the TSOs or their human security provisions in MMCs. To fill this knowledge gap, this Volume documents and analyses philanthropy and all types of third sector organizations including the awqaf (Muslim endowments) vis-à-vis human security in MMCs. The study is comprehensive in treating the subject matter (analyzing the legal environment, characteristics, extent and functioning of all forms of the third sector and their human security performances) and in geographic coverage (incorporating all forty-seven Muslim majority countries in Africa and Asia). It is also innovative expounding TSO density analysis, state support score (SSS) and a third-sector capability measure (TCM) to study their interrelationships. It is an essential unique reference book for students and scholars of the third sector and human security, international organizations, development agencies, donor governments, security experts and in particular anybody with interests in Islam and MMCs.
The book aims to explore South Asian third sector – the nonprofit organizations as provider of social services. The book defines social welfare and describe its relationship to social service programmes and individual well-being; understands the social policy development from the problem identification to policy implementation; describes the range of organization of social service agencies that are responsible for providing social welfare programmes; explores the various roles that professional and non- professional helpers provide in the delivery of social welfare and their influence in promoting change in policy development; and understands the umbrella concept of Child welfare, welfare of people with disability and elderly welfare in welfare policy.
Wang offers an empirically based exploration into work-integration social enterprises as a means for delivering social services in China. Focusing on the political economy of social enterprise development in China, Wang examines the nature of the relationship between the state and social enterprises and the implications of such relationships for their institutional effectiveness. She adopts a bottom-up approach that investigates indigenous practices embedded within the local political context. Common ground has been established internationally that the social enterprise model provides new ways of social service delivery that could potentially change and restructure the social welfare economy. However, the development path differs across social contexts, especially in an authoritarian country like China. This study provides insights into China's efforts to develop its social welfare sector and reinvigorate customary ideas about how public services could be better offered given the country's political economy. This book will be of great interest to both scholars of China’s political economy and those with an interest in the development of the social enterprise sector looking to see how this works in a Chinese context.
This book deals with institutional reforms in response to a mounting environmental crisis in Vietnam. The author introduces the reader to the most important environmental problems that Vietnam is currently facing and shows how the emphasis on economic growth has come at the expense of the natural environment. Following an assessment of the still deteriorating environmental situation, the book develops a theoretical framework of institutional change within the political system seeking to overcome the traditionally static understanding of institutions. The empirical analysis devotes attention to the main aspects on Vietnam’s environmental governance including the government, society, businesses and international organizations. The book is based on four years of empirical research including interviews with government officials and representatives of international and national non-governmental organizations, observations of meetings, official documents, and numerous Vietnamese newspaper reports. This book is directed both at academics, students, as well as development practitioners and activists. It seeks to engage those working in the fields of environmental politics, governance, and institutional change in one-party states.
Philanthropy plays an essential role in Muslim practice around the world. Using a new framing, Philanthropy in the Muslim World contributes to the literature by adding Muslim-majority countries that have not been previously included in cross national philanthropy volumes as well as countries that have important Muslim minority communities.
This volume, the first major study in its field, offers an invaluable stepping-stone to a more informed understanding of the fundamental social changes taking place in Asia – defined as ‘a reconstruction of the intimate and public spheres’. Such changes are being observed worldwide, but previous studies relating to this phenomenon are largely based on Western experiences dating back to the 1970s. Developments in Asia, however, are manifesting both similarities and differences between the two regions. The book’s strongest appeal, therefore, lies in its theoretical orientation, seeking to define frameworks that are most relevant to the Asian reality. These frameworks include compressed and semi-compressed modernity, familialism, familialization policy, unsustainable society, the second demographic dividend, care diamonds, and the transnational public sphere. Such concepts are seen as essential in any discussion concerning the intimate and public spheres of contemporary Asia. Accordingly, Transformation of the Intimate and the Public in Asian Modernity can be seen as a valuable text as well as a work of reference and will be welcomed by social scientists and cultural anthropologists alike. The book comprises an in-depth introduction and ten chapters contributed by scholars from Japan, Korea, Thailand and Canada covering topics ranging from low fertility, changing life course, increasing non-regular employment, care provision, migrant workers, social policies, and family law, to the activities of transnational NGOs, with a special focus on distinctive features of Asian experiences.
