
Global Civil Society: Speaking in Northern Tongues?
Latin American Perspectives, Vol. 38, 2011, 22 septembre 2010, Afef Benessaieh (1972-2021)
Benessaieh, Afef, « Global Civil Society: Speaking in Northern Tongues? », Latin American Perspectives, Vol. 38, no. 6, Juillet 2011, pp. 69-90.
The goal of this article is to examine ideas regarding a ‘global’ civil society held by actors with non-Western/non-Northern perspectives, in order to articulate a more complete understanding of the ‘global’, one which transcends the limited conception which arises from viewing the subject only from one location. This examination is based on extensive socio-ethnographic fieldwork among NGOs, international donor agencies and Church-related organizations in Chiapas, Mexico (in 2002-2004). This research primarily suggests that ‘global civil society’– as an imagined terrain of transnational social action— can be viewed both as a site of expanded resources for social action as well as a source of new significant constraints, a terrain where not all ideas and values are heard, promoted or given legitimacy. Secondly, it is argued that there exists a ‘transnationally resonant’ language into which Southern activists need to translate their issues and concerns if they wish to be heard.