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Convergence: Finding Collective Voice in Global Civil Society©

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Abstract

This study investigated the question of how civil society groups cross political, cultural, social, economic, and language boundaries to find common ground and to act collectively in coalitions to effect international change. A set of constituents emerged in answer to the research question; Complementarity, Speed and Democracy, Rules of Engagement, Contingent Alliance, and Convergence. Convergence emerged as a central and unifying construct. Convergence is the uniting of people who are different, or even opposed, around a common cause. It is based on the presumption that diversity is critical to coalition success and that it needs be employed to leverage its many potential benefits. The analyses led to the conceptualization of the Convergence System, a model that employs global civil society (GCS) diversity to discern complementarity within GCS coalitions, to discover Points of Convergence, and to facilitate collective action toward shared objectives, thus enabling efficacious action by GCS within the international polity.

Résumé

Cette étude examine comment les groupes de la société civile traversent les frontières politiques, culturelles, sociales et économiques pour trouver un terrain d’entente et agir collectivement en coalitions afin d’apporter des changements au niveau international. Un groupe constitué des parties prenantes a vu le jour pour répondre à la question objet de la recherche, à savoir : complémentarité, vitesse et démocratie, règles d’engagement, alliance des délégations et convergence/points communs. La convergence s’est révélée être une notion centrale et fédératrice. Elle est la réunion de personnes différentes, voire adverses, autour d’une cause commune. Elle est basée sur la supposition que la diversité est indispensable pour le succès de la coalition et qu’elle doit être utilisée pour tirer parti de ses nombreux avantages potentiels. Les analyses ont ouvert la voie à la modélisation d’un « système de convergence » , modèle qui utilise la diversité culturelle de la société civile internationale (SCI) pour discerner la complémentarité au sein des coalitions de la SCI, découvrir des points de convergence, et faciliter l’action collective en direction d’objectifs partagés, permettant ainsi une action efficace par la SCI dans le cadre de la politie internationale.

Zusammenfassung

Diese Studie untersuchte die Frage, wie zivilgesellschaftliche Gruppen politische, kulturelle, soziale, ökonomische und sprachliche Grenzen überwinden, um Gemeinsamkeiten zu finden und gemeinsam in Koalitionen agieren, um Änderungen auf internationaler Ebene zu bewirken. In Beantwortung der Forschungsfrage sind eine Reihe Komponenten zu Tage getreten: Complementarity (Komplementation), Speed and Democracy (Geschwindigkeit und Demokratie), Rules of Engagement (Einsatzregeln), Contingent Alliance (Eventualbündnis) und Convergence (Konvergenz). Konvergenz stellte sich als zentrales und vereinigendes Konstrukt heraus. Konvergenz ist die Vereinigung von unterschiedlichen oder auch gegensätzlichen Leuten um eine gemeinsame Sache herum. Sie basiert auf der Annahme, dass Vielfältigkeit kritisch für den Erfolg einer Koalition ist und dass sie genutzt werden muss, um viele ihrer möglichen Vorteile wirksam einzusetzen. Die Analysen führten zur Konzeptualisierung des Konvergenzsystems, ein Modell, dass die Vielfältigkeit der globalen Zivilgesellschaft (GCS) nutzt, um Komplementation innerhalb von GCS-Koalitionen zu erkennen, Konvergenzspunkte zu entdecken und gemeinsame Aktion in Richtung gemeinsame Ziele zu vereinfachen und dadurch wirksame Aktionen der GCS in der internationalen Gemeinschaft möglich macht.

Resumen

Este estudio investiga cómo los grupos de la sociedad civil atraviesan barreras políticas, culturales, sociales, económicas y lingüísticas para encontrar un terreno común y actuar juntos en coaliciones que propicien cambios internacionales. Como respuesta a la cuestión del estudio surgieron un conjunto de elementos constitutivos: la complementariedad, la velocidad y la democracia, las reglas de compromiso, la alianza de contingentes y la convergencia. La convergencia surgió como un elemento central y unificador. La convergencia es la unión de personas distintas o incluso opuestas en torno a una causa común. Se basa en la idea de que la diversidad es vital para el éxito de una coalición y que es necesaria para aprovechar numerosas ventajas potenciales. Este análisis nos ha conducido a la conceptualización del Sistema de Convergencia, un modelo que emplea la diversidad de GCS para discernir la complementariedad dentro de las coaliciones de GCS, para descubrir puntos de convergencia y para facilitar las acciones colectivas hacia unos objetivos compartidos, permitiendo así una acción eficaz por parte de GCS dentro de la política internacional.

摘要

本论文对如何使各个公民社会团体跨越政治、文化、社会、经济和语言界限发现彼此的共同点并共同联合实现国际变革的问题进行了研究,在回答这一研究问题时出现了一系列要素:互补、速度与民主、相处法则、暂时联盟和凝聚。凝聚是以集中和统一的概念出现的,凝聚是指围绕一项共同的事业将不同、甚至互相对立的民众团结在一起,它基于以下条件,即:差异性对于联合的成功是至关重要的,需要用于平衡很多潜在利益。这一分析导致了凝聚体系的概念化,即:一种使用GCS差异性来了解GCS联合中的互补性、发现凝聚点、推动朝着共同的目标采取一致行动,从而使GCS能够在国际政体内采取有效行动的模式。

ملخص

هذه الدراسة حققت في كيفية أن مجموعة المجتمع المدني عبرت الحدود السياسية، الثقافية، الإجتماعية، واللغة لإيجاد أرضية مشتركة والعمل الجماعي في تحالف للتأثيرعلى التغيير الدولي. هناك مجموعة من المقومات ظهرت في الإجابة على سؤال البحث ؛ التكامل والسرعة والديمقراطية ، وقواعد الاشتباك ، وحدات التحالف والتقارب. التقارب برز بوصفه بناء مركزي و موحد. التقارب هو توحيد الناس المختلفون ، أو حتى الذين يعارضون ، حول قضية مشتركة. أنه يقوم على افتراض أن التنوع أمر حاسم لنجاح قوات التحالف ، وأنه يحتاج أن يعمل على الإستفادة من العديد من الفوائد المحتملة. التحليلات أدت إلى وضع تصور لنظام التقارب ، نموذج يستخدم نظام التقارب العالمي(GCS) المتنوع لفهم التكامل داخل إئتلافات نظام التقارب العالمي(GCS)، لإكتشاف نقاط التقارب، وتيسير العمل الجماعي نحو أهداف مشتركة، مما يتيح اتخاذ إجراءات فعالة من نظام التقارب العالمي(GCS) داخل النظام السياسي الدولي.

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Magis, K. Convergence: Finding Collective Voice in Global Civil Society© . Voluntas 21, 317–338 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-009-9107-y

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