(Page 2 of 34) - "Global Civil Society": an Empirical Portrayal authored by Omelicheva, Mariya.

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Mariya Y. Omelicheva, Purdue University

“Global Civil Society?” An Empirical Portrayal

In this study, I seek out an answer to the question, “Do we have enough empirical

evidence to assume the existence of global civil society?” In order to subject the
attributive hypothesis about the existence of the phenomenon to empirical tests, I develop
a comprehensive conceptualization of global civil society based on extensive analysis of
conceptual definitions offered in the literature, operationalize it, and collect data on all
of the attributive components of the concept. The primary source of data for this research
is an international web-based survey of global civil society organizations complemented
by statistics and findings from other studies of global civil society. I use the secondary
data to demonstrate the existence of the institutional infrastructure of global civil society
and patterns of interactions within it. The purpose of the survey is to develop an
understanding of how global civil society organizations, themselves, conceive of the
space where their activities take place, what their goals, values, sources of legitimacy,
rights, and responsibilities are. Examining the normative content of global civil society,
the study is set to establish the extent to which the distribution of economic and political
power in the world is reflected in the types of norms and principles constituting the
normative content of global civil society and the ways, in which those rules and norms
are set.

In the 1990s, the concept of civil society that has been traditionally used to

describe the interplay of voluntary associations within states has entered the discourse on
development and democratization at the global level. The notion of “global civil society”
was introduced as a catchphrase describing a range of activities of non-governmental
organizations in global politics. Quickly, it became commonplace in the lexicon of
academicians, governments, international institutions, donors, and voluntary associations
alike. Yet, no agreement on theoretical conceptualization, less on empirical validation of
global civil society has been reached up-to-date. Is there enough empirical evidence to
assume the existence of global civil society? Or, is it still a normative ideal that
proponents of global civil society tend to mistake for an observable empirical
phenomenon?

In an attempt to answer the raised questions, I develop a comprehensive

conceptualization of global civil society, operationalize it, advance an attributive
hypothesis about the existence of the phenomenon, and subject it to empirical tests. The
primary source of data for this research is an international web-based survey of global
civil society organizations complemented by statistics and findings from the earlier
studies of global civil society. I use the statistical records of the Union of International
Associations (UIA) to demonstrate the existence of the institutional infrastructure of
global civil society and patterns of interactions within it. The normative structure, an
essential element of global civil society that is repeatedly overlooked in the related
analyses, is examined using survey methodology. The purpose of the survey is to develop
an understanding of how global civil society organizations, themselves, conceive of the
space where their activities take place, and what their goals and values are. The
questionnaire taps into the questions of the rights, responsibilities, standards for integrity
and performance, and sources of legitimacy of the surveyed organizations.