Civil Society under Siege: Community of Practice Gizmos - Block chain Technology as a Social Media Tool -RL Vol XI No XX, CXXIV, MMXVII

Civil Society under Siege:

Community of Practice Gismos - Blockchain Technology as a Social Media Tool

Public Lecture - RL Vol XI No XX, CXXIV, MMXVII

Costantinos Berhutesfa Costantinos, PhD

Professor of Public Policy, School of Graduate Studies,

College of Business and Economics, AAU

Abstract

The military states, which succeeded the colonial regimes, it is now widely acknowledged, thrived on graft and influence peddling and existed for the benefit of the powerful African elites. The state effectively disenfranchised the poor from participating in the decision-making processes and resource allocation. The main drivers of the Arab Spring have been poverty, rising prices, social exclusion, anger over corruption and personal enrichment among the political elite, and a demographic bulge of young people unable to find work. Moreover, Governments in many na­tions are proclaiming laws that limit the remit of civil society organisa­tions to empower citizens in the framework of a political society and in some cases to make such institutions illegal.

It stands to reason that the vistas for political transi­tion hinge on the actuality of a system of supportive civil society institutions. Nevertheless, how can Communities of Practice be able to recog­nise institutional gaps that inhibit a transition to designing programmes to help fill them? If social media (facebook, twitter…) can bring about the Arab Spring, then there is no shortage of possible applications for blockchain tools across Communities of Practice globally. This lecture will explore blockchain’s potential as an elec­tronic platform for mobilising citizens is insightful and not just for digital currencies, which were the first to make use of it. Currently, civil society communication records, experiences in em­powering citi­zens on social media and internet exchanges are all private domains. The need to create and connect Communities of Practice globally among civil advocated is long overdue.

Key words: communities of practice, civil society, advocacy, social media, block chain, political transition, 

Picture credit @ Floyd Pennington

See lecture here or https://www.academia.edu/34192642/CoP_Gismos_-_Blockchain_Technology_as_a_Social_Media_Tool_-_RL_Vol_XI_No_XX_CXXIV_MMXVII.pdf