Chapter 1 Questions

• Describe a "real world" example of civil society in (a) your own country and (b) some other country. In each of your examples, are the relevant dynamics and processes of civil society contained within the borders of a single state or do they transcend national boundaries? Explain your answer. (9-10)
• What fundamental personal values do you employ to make sense of politics and formulate political opinions? Where did you get (or how did you develop) these values? How might your answers to these questions differ from those given by someone who is another race or gender, lives in another country, or subscribes to another religion? What does this tell you about the study of world politics? (10-11)
• If civility is an important component of civil society (as Norton contends) and if civil society can function in the absence of formal government institutions (as Muslih suggests), what should be done with (sometimes) "uncivil" actors such as religious fundamentalists or political extremists? Why? (12-13)
• Normative theorists argue that the term "normative theory" is misleading, in that there is no such thing as "non-normative" theory. Do you agree? Why or why not? (14)
• How does a people-centered understanding of international politics differ from more conventional state-centered understandings? Toward which perspective do you lean? Why? (15)
• What are some activities in which you've engaged that have changed you on a personal level and helped you "gain political agency"? Explain your answer. (17)
• With regard to "uncivil" actors, how relevant and viable are Norton's "cast of mind" and Sylvester's "empathetic cooperation"? What are some practical ways in which the adoption (or application) of these concepts might influence the political dynamics of the contemporary Middle East (i.e, Israel and the Palestinian territories)? How likely is it that such ideas will gain a significant foothold in this or other conflict-ridden political "hot spots"? Explain your answer. (18)
• How would you characterize the relationship between global civil society and the state system? Are the dynamics of global civil society and the state system more complementary than contradictory or vice versa? Explain your answer and provide supporting examples. (18-20)
• Is it a good thing or a bad thing that global civil society's channels of opportunity are ideologically variable? Why? (19-20)
• Cite one NGO that works to bring about progressive change and one that works toward conservative ends. What is your basis for assigning each NGO/TSMO to its respective category? (21-22)
• Think of an NGO that you support, in practice or in principle, and use the concept of "framing" to explain why you support it. (22)