This essay synthesises the evolving thinking of Conducive Space for Peace (CSP) on the linkages between civil society, peacebuilding, and the potential for global systems transformation. Informed by CSP’s RESPACE initiative, it draws on rich historical case studies, from the German workers’ movement and Black Reconstruction to anti-colonial liberation struggles and the rise of NGOs, to explore how ordinary people have self-organised to challenge domination and build alternative futures.
It also examines the pressing challenges facing civil society today, including shrinking civic space, authoritarian repression, economic constraints, and the difficulty of sustaining grassroots organisation beyond moments of protest. In response, the essay outlines strategies for building translocal networks,fostering material and organisational autonomy, and nurturing solidarity across divides. Concluding with a call to action, it urges a reimagining of civil society as an autonomous, globally connected force capable of catalysing systemic change and resisting co-optation, repression, and inequality.
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