Open AccessJournal Article
Two Faces of Civil Society and the Military in Nigeria’s Democratisation
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In this paper, the authors argue that neither the military nor civil society fits the straitjacket of a mere harbinger or obstacle to democracy, as their historical roles complexly intersect both outcomes.Abstract:
Dominant views about politicized armies tend to portray the political actors in the military as bearers of the collective orientation of the entire institution towards democracy. Also civil society is mostly qualified as a democratising space. Nonetheless, these notions obscure the janiform potentials of political agencies in transitional states, where the military and civil society are neither exclusively authoritarian nor democratic. Essentially transition to democracy from military rule and post-authoritarian consolidation is a dialectical see-saw between genuine democratic interests in civil society and similar actors within military institutions on the one hand; and a bloc of undemocratic interests constituted by military actors and their allies in civil society on the other hand. Using Nigeria’s experience of transitions to civil rule and the post-military era, I argue that neither the military nor civil society fits the straitjacket of a mere harbinger or obstacle to democracy; as their historical roles complexly intersect both outcomes. Keywords: Civil Society, Democratisation, Democratisers, De-democratisers, Two Facesread more
Citations
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The Theory of Communicative Action, Vol. 1, Reason and the Rationalization of Society
Roy Boyne,Jürgen Habermas +1 more
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Хабермас и Фуко: Теоретики Гражданского Общества (Habermas and Foucault: Thinkers for Civil Society?)
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the importance of civil empowerment in a strong democratic society and the best way to empower women in the democratic process, and propose a project for empowering women in civil society.
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Between Military Resistance and Democratic Consolidation Epochs: Is Nigeria’s Civil Society Still Vibrant or Docile?
TL;DR: This article argued that there is a seeming lull in civil society activism in Nigeria, since its return to democratic rule in 1999, in contrast to what obtained under military rule, and suggested how the civil society can contribute meaningfully to the country's attempt towards democratic consolidation.
References
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Book
The Theory of Communicative Action
Jürgen Habermas,Thomas McCarthy +1 more
TL;DR: In this article, an apex seal for a rotary combustion engine is disclosed having a hollow, thin wall, tubular, metal core member embedded in an extruded composite metal-carbon matrix, adapted to slideably engage the slot of the rotor in which it rides and sealingly engage the rotor housing against which it is spring and gas pressure biased.
Journal ArticleDOI
Making democracy work
TL;DR: For example, this paper argued that true democracy connotes co-operation and interdependence, a definite responsibility for each citizen if there is to be any democracy, and there must be a general awakening -or else!
Journal ArticleDOI
The Theory of Communicative Action, Vol. 1, Reason and the Rationalization of Society
Roy Boyne,Jürgen Habermas +1 more
Book
An essay on the history of the civil society
Adam Ferguson,Louis Schneider +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the general characteristics of human nature, the history of rude nations, and the consequences that result from the advancement of civil and commercial arts, and of the decline of nations.