REVISITING THE IDEA(L) OF GLOBAL CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE LIGHT OF HUMAN RIGHTS REVISITANDO LA IDEA/EL IDEAL DE LA SOCIEDAD CIVIL GLOBAL A LA LUZ DE LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS (original) (raw)

In the past few decades, the proliferation of a " third sector " of nongovernmental and non-profit organizations that operate across borders has prompted a reformulation of the concept of civil society. A number of contemporary studies contend that the previously state-centric civil society is becoming international, transnational or global. Whether the emergence of an autonomous realm of world citizens is merely a projection of a cosmopolitan ideal or a real phenomenon is a contentious issue. The present article problematizes the idea of a global civil society by analysing its descriptive purchase and its normative implications. Drawing on a constructivist approach, the paper proposes the term " ideational infrastructure " to analyse its discursive and interpretive underpinnings. The analysis finds that global civil society is a reification rooted in human rights discourse as a contemporary ideal and a moral aspiration. Resumen: En las últimas décadas, la proliferación de un " tercer sector " conformado por organizaciones no gubernamentales y sin fines de lucro que trascienden las fronteras ha propiciado una reformulación del concepto de sociedad civil. Una serie de estudios contemporáneos sostienen que la sociedad civil estado-céntrica se está volviendo internacional, transnacional o global. Si la aparición de una esfera autónoma