AW: [WSIS CS-Plenary] Civil society activismandCommunication-information policy

[William Drake]

Hi Milton,

> -----Original Message-----
> From: plenary-admin at wsis-cs.org [mailto:plenary-admin at wsis-cs.org]On
> Behalf Of Milton Mueller

> I suspect that there are major differences in interest group
> organization in Europe, Asia and the U.S. The absence of a
> parliamentary system in the U.S. means that focused, ideological
> positions cannot be represented by parties and so must be
> represented by advocacy groups.

Conversely, the relative absence of philanthropic foundations and supportive
tax laws and a different organizational structure and balance between states
and civil society/ private sector long meant that focused, ideological
positions had to be represented by parties rather than independent advocacy
groups.  The interesting dynamic over the past decade has been the
convergence.  The challenge now is coalitional consolidation, which alas is
much harder.

Ok, basta.

Bill

******************************************
William J. Drake
Senior Associate
International Centre for Trade
and Sustainable Development www.ictsd.org
Geneva, Switzerland
wdrake at ictsd.ch
http://www.citi.columbia.edu/affiliates/wdrake.htm
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