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This chapter turns attention to civil society protest as a specific delegitimation practice vis-à-vis global governance institutions. The authors argue that, while existing research has commonly portrayed protest as a challenge to the legitimacy of global governance institutions, when and how this delegitimation happens is not well theorized. To advance such understanding, the chapter proposes a distinction between protests that target an institution as a whole (diffuse protest) and protest targeting particular processes and policies of the institution (specific protest). The chapter also distinguishes between protest by actors that the global governance institution recognizes to be a significant audience and protests by actors which lack this status.

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This article reconsiders the argument that civil society promotes democracy. Both the independent variable of civil society and the dependent variable of democracy are disentangled. Several hypotheses on what characteristics of civil society organizations (CSOs) promote what aspects of democracy are tested using survey data including 500 CSOs in post-communist Latvia. The regression analysis shows that organizational characteristics (such as the field of activity, extent of political activities, and number of members) have a stronger effect on democracy than have relational characteristics (such as the degree of open recruitment and autonomy). Certain characteristics of CSOs can be supportive of some democratic functions but constitute obstacles to other aspects of democracy. It is possible to distinguish between an advocacy civil society, which is vital for the institutional aspects of democracy through performing the functions of interest articulation and checking state power, and a recreational civil society, which may strengthen democracy through the fostering of support for democratic values and increasing individual capacity for political participation.

The aim of this article is to advance political economy and politics into migration studies by analyzing the role of transnational advocacy networks working on issues of trafficking and labor migration in East and Southeast Asia. Drawing on some empirical research, but mainly offering conceptual ideas, we demonstrate the importance of gender not only in trafficking and labor migration but also in transnational advocacy. First, we contextualize trafficking and labor migration within a gendered international political economy, focusing on existing power relations between genders, between classes and between states. Second, we examine the role of transnational advocacy networks in this context. In particular, we argue that a broader understanding of political opportunities and obstacles is needed. Emphasizing the transnational context and the importance of gender, we outline different types of opportunities and obstacles to advocacy in this particular area.