• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
Third Force: The Rise of Transnational Civil Society
Book

Third Force: The Rise of Transnational Civil Society

The book's six case studies investigate the role of transnational civil society in the global anti-corruption movement, nuclear arms control, dam-building and sustainability, democracy movements, landmines, and human rights.

Link Copied
By Ann M. Florini
Published on Oct 2, 2000

Additional Links

Chapter OneTable of ContentsPaperback - $19.95Kindle - $9.99iTunes - $9.99Nook - $10.39

Source: Washington

Transnational networks of civil society groups are seizing an ever-greater voice in how governments run countries and how corporations do business. This volume brings together a multinational group of authors to help policy makers, scholars, corporate executives, and activists themselves understand the profound issues raised. How powerful are these networks? Is their current prominence a temporary fluke or a permanent change in the nature of international power? What roles should they play as the world struggles to cope with the new global agenda? The book's six case studies investigate the role of transnational civil society in the global anti-corruption movement, nuclear arms control, dam-building and sustainability, democracy movements, landmines, and human rights. The conclusion draws out lessons and argues for a new understanding of the legitimate role of transnational civil society.

Advance Praise

“An excellent, comprehensive, and timely analysis of a phenomenon that could redraw the contours of global governance in inspiring and challenging ways in the twenty-first century.”
    —Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General and CEO of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation

“Provides an excellent overview to the issues and trends in the rise of transnational civil society. Policy makers, students, and academics will appreciate the lively prose, diverse and well-documented case studies, lucid conclusions, and useful annotated bibliography.”
   —Kathryn Sikkink, University of Minnesota

About the Author

Ann M. Florini

Former Senior Associate

    Recent Work

  • Other
    Overhauling the WTO: Opportunity at Doha and Beyond

      Ann M. Florini, Mr. John Audley

  • Paper
    No More Secrets?: Policy Implications of Commercial Remote Sensing Satellites

      Ann M. Florini, Yahya A. Dehqanzada

Ann M. Florini
Former Senior Associate
Security

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  • Article
    Continental Asia and the Rise of Portfolio Politics

    “Central Asia” as an analytical category is itself part of the problem. The term is a Soviet administrative inheritance, drawn along lines that served the convenience of Moscow. The Central Asian states the Soviets named no longer see themselves through this category alone and are not aligning across political blocs but are instead building external partnerships sector by sector, assigning different partners to different functions.

      Jennifer B. Murtazashvili

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    In Russia, Private Companies Have Been Left to Pick Up the Tab for Ukrainian Drone Attacks

    The cost of air defense has become an unregistered tax on revenue for businesses. While military rents are consolidated in the federal budget, the costs of defense are being spread across the balance sheets of companies and regional governments.

      Alexandra Prokopenko

  • Tiananmen Gate with US and Chinese flags
    Commentary
    Emissary
    Trump and Xi Should Tackle a Previously Impossible AI Conversation

    Previous dialogues ended in failure. This time could be different.

      Scott Singer

  • A drone flies in front of an Iranian flag in southern Tehran, Iran
    Article
    The Unintended Consequences of Iran’s Asymmetric Strategy and America’s AI War

    The Iran war is unique in the scope and scale of asymmetric warfare and AI-enabled conflict. These will test the limits of protecting civilians.

      Steve Feldstein

  • A visitor looks at a simulator for "electronic warfare" at the booth of German Federal Armed Forces Bundeswehr during a tour of the Hannover industrial trade fair for mechanical and electrical engineering and digital industries, in Hannover, northern Germany on April 20, 2026.
    Article
    The Effect of Military AI on Contemporary Battlefields

    AI in warfare has numerous impacts, including how they shape human responses to target recommendations and how they increase the speed at which lawful targets can be recommended.

      Yahli Shereshevsky

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.