Indiana University Kokomo professor publishes book on civil societies
October 6, 2008
Robert Dibie, Ph.D., professor of public affairs and dean of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Kokomo, recently published another new book with the title, Comparative Perspectives on Civil Society. The book examines the relationship between civil society and government in many countries and how this association might develop further in the areas of social, economic and political development.
Several experts explore the environment of this relationship, the strategies adopted by national and regional governments to influence the behavior of civil society organizations, as well as public policies that guide the parties toward achieving sustainable development.
Dibie’s book is relevant and timely, given the role civil society organizations play in the social, economic, and political development in several nations around the world. The new book has already received excellent review from scholars in the related discipline.
"Dibie's Comparative Perspective of Civil Society is a rich survey of the cross-national activities of civil groups, with attention to apparent cultural differences and a tough effort to commend devices for social, political, and economic reform. The book is a distinguished collection of readings representing the fundamental perspectives of civil society activities around the world."— Professor Kayode Makinde, vice chancellor, Babcock University, Nigeria.
The book also examines the role of civil society in the sustainable development processes in Brazil, Japan, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Philippine, Ireland, India, and Morocco. Comparison of the activities of civil society organizations in these nations will help the reader understand and analyze the theories that have been proposed to explain how civil society and government ought to function.
Dibie contends that entrepreneurship in the social sector should be designed to focus on the development of knowledge and skills for creating, leading, or supporting civil society organizations through the application of entrepreneurial and managerial skills. In the book, Dibie argues that the distinct opportunities and challenges of creating and building sustainable civil society organizations initiatives require not only the application and adaption of business skills to social enterprise context, but also the development of new conceptual frameworks and strategies tailored specifically to civil society organizations, nationally and international.
The book was published by Lexington Books in Maryland.
Other reviewers’ comment includes:
"Comparative Perspective of Civil Society is written in a clear and crisp style, providing a scholarly survey of just what a daunting, complex, and important role civil society organizations could play in a nation's bid for appropriate democracy."— Professor Toyin Falola, the University of Texas, Austin.
"Dibie's book on civil society is comprehensive in coverage but crisp in exposition of civil society activities and their relationship with government institutions of different dimensions. The book applies a variety of analytic frameworks to the many forms of civil society activities in several countries." —Professor Kelechi Kalu, Ohio State University, Columbus Ohio.
Contributors to the book include: Ayandiji Daniel Aina; Fjorentina Angjellari-Dajci; Karl Besel; Matthew Bradley; Josephine Dibie; Wilfred N. Gabsa; Muthusami Kumaran; Ligaya Lindo McGovern; William Mello; David Nelson; Johnston Akuma-Kalu Njoku; Raphael Chijioke Njoku; Offiong Offiong; and Felix Oriakhi. The book will be useful to teach some SPEA graduate courses on nonprofit management Dibie said.
Indiana University Kokomo serves a seven county, primary service area in north central Indiana. The campus offers more than 40 academic programs including four graduate degrees.
