According to the authors, "many Southern societies are living in a paradoxical situation in the current era of globalisation and post-Cold War world. While democratisation is widening, at least concerning basic political institutions, social polarisation and inequalities are deepening in these societies. Thus, they are struggling with contradictory forces and are under continuous transformation." This research project examines these issues and provides information on how development aid is "increasingly channelled" through civil society organisations(CSOs). The report seeks to find out how civil societies in the South experience and describe their work in relation to global processes and development cooperation.

The report indicates that CSOs are challenged because "the strengthening of civil societies has become more and more central in the context of development cooperation carried out by Western governments, the World Bank and other Bretton-Woods institutions, the United Nations' family organisations and other aid agencies." The authors point out that supporting Southern civil societies is regarded as an effective way to develop democratisation, human rights and self-determination of local societies.

The study methodology was qualitative. It used case studies, forums and workshops with the CSO groups, individual in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, documentary analysis and literature review of primary and secondary sources. Fieldwork was coordinated and carried out by local collaborators who selected the methods to be used in their respective countries. The NGO-Research Group provided the general framework. The study took ten months.

The report is divided into four sections:

• Part one: an introduction, background, aims, methodology, and a summary of the study experiences.
• Part two: the concept of civil society referring to Southern case countries and presents "the conceptual nature" of civil societies in the specific countries.
• Part three: experiences and future visions of the case civil society organisations.
• Part four: conclusions of the study, answers to five research questions presented in the introduction, recommendations for development co-operation, and further areas of research.
• Appendices include case studies from: Kenya, Namibia, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam, Mexico and Nicaragua.

University of Helsinki, The Institute of Development Studies - e-mail: ids-finland@helsinki.fi