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161. Civil Society, the Public Sector, and Poor Communities

Author:
Kingsley G. Thomas and James Gibson
Publication Date:
08-1999
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Urban Institute
Abstract:
The current devolution debate has focused on shifting responsibilities from the federal level to the states. A byproduct of this shift has been renewed attention to an often neglected element of the policy mix—the costs and benefits of different local institutionalarrangement—and to the potential roles of civil society and community-based initiatives in that mix. The local tableau has recently been rediscovered as a vital leg on which the performance of the public sector is dependent. Students of government are only beginning to understand this play between civil society and the public sector. Here we focus especially on the dynamics within poor communities, where simple assistance is no longer considered adequate to solve problems without the necessary institutional infrastructure that is sometimes included under the label “civil society.”
Topic:
Civil Society, Human Welfare, and Poverty
Political Geography:
United States

162. Not Even One: A Report On The Crisis of Children and Firearms

Publication Date:
02-1994
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Carter Center
Abstract:
Not even one child's death from firearms is acceptable or inevitable. What will we do about it? We gathered at The Carter Center, 26 people from various fields and disciplines, all concerned with protecting and lengthening the lives of children, to seek a path forward amid the carnage of our children caused by firearms. What could be done to stem the hemorrhage in the streets? Could we do enough to make a difference? Could we do anything at all? Author Norman Cousins has said that the greatest t the United States has given the world is to demonstrate that it is possible to plan a rational future. It is easy to lose hope when faced with a situation as horrible as thousands of children dying from firearms. Yet even here, we affirm that it is possible to plan a rational future. Our gathering was framed around a modest focus on: 1. Children, not all people; 2. Firearms, not all violence; 3. Initiatives that could make an urgent and significant impact in the next five to 10 years; 4. Things we could work on immediately.
Topic:
Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, Civil Society, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
United States