By John Burbidge
Beyond Prince
and Merchant
Citizen Participation and the Rise of Civil Society
No longer are people willing to leave it to governments and business to lead. Citizens are seizing the initiative and reclaiming their rightful place as the catalysts of social change.
Beyond Prince and Merchant gives a human face to the global phenomenon of citizens catalyzing social change. Beginning with a description of the origins and evolution of the concept of civil society, the book explores the global mosaic of civil society today, as well as its new frontiers — the role of women and youth, local community, micro-enterprise, participatory methods, indicators of a healthy civil society and much more.
Written by practitioners and academics from around the world who are striving to create a global civil society, this book describes the challenges confronting civil society and provides inspiring examples of how these challenges are being met.
Citizen activists
Reviews of
Beyond Prince and Merchant
In the abundance of literature on civil society, this book stands out with its clarity, understanding of diversity, and multicultural approach. A truly civil book on civil society.
— Miklos Marschall, CIVICUS
Beyond Prince and Merchant describes the rise of civil society in a broad conceptual framework and practical, down-to-earth detail. The ICA is proud to be associated with this valuable contribution to the global dialogue on the subject.
— Hala El Kholy, The Institute of Cultural Affairs International
This extraordinary book provides a wealth of insights about the role of civil society in achieving sustainable, people-centered development through mechanisms and processes of good governance.
— Robertson Work, United Nations Development Programme
This book is a must for those wanting to understand the revolution happening the world over as citizens organize to meet the great challenges we all face.
— Richard Sandbrook, International Institute for Environment and Development
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Contrasting with governmental power and economic power — the power of the Prince and the Merchant — there is an immediate and autonomous power; sometimes evident, sometimes latent: people’s power.
— MARC NERFIN
My Writing Blog
Musings from a Writer’s Life
Confession: I’m a Westwallah!
During six years in India I grew accustomed to hearing the word ‘wallah’, whether it be a chai wallah, rickshaw wallah, or one of dozens of other trades, specialties or locations that wallah denotes. It was one of those Indian words that had seamlessly slipped into English and everyone understood it.
When I embarked on writing and publishing some years ago and was searching for a suitable name for my business, Wordswallah immediately came to mind. I was delighted when my graphic designer created a logo that not only captured the word beautifully but linked it stylistically to its Indian origins.
Becoming My Own Publisher
After having had six books published in four countries, I decided to try self-publishing my latest book, MORE THAN HALFWAY TO SOMEWHERE. This decision was driven by comments from a previous publisher and a writer friend who both deemed my collection of travel stories ‘not commercially viable’. But I also had a desire to experiment with this way of reaching readers, in which I would have control over the entire process, from writing and editing to designing, printing and distributing my book. Or so I thought.