Civil Society and Citizenship in Development (CitDe)
Table of contents
Research group description
Research group brings together postdocs, PhD researchers and master students with various disciplinary backgrounds to critically discuss and create knowledge on issues of citizenship and civil society in development - in the contexts of global South and in the field of development cooperation and humanitarian aid. The group investigates different dynamics, manifestations and dilemmas related to conceptualizing citizenship and civil society, as well as conducts critical analysis of the practices undertaken in North-South civil society collaborations.
The group investigates contextualized processes of organizing and mobilizing in civil society, lived and enacted citizenship, hybridity and legitimacy of civil society organizations, and organizational dynamics in NGOs, including their intervention approaches in the times of debates on localization and shifting the power in international development.
The group convenes every three weeks to discuss members' work or relevant literature.
The group has hosted two Academy of Finland DEVELOP-programme projects: GROW (2015-2108) and CS-LEARN (2018-2022), and currently hosts one Academy of Finland funded project EnaCIT (2022-2026).
Master theses conducted in the group
Heikkinen, E. (2024) Master's Thesis; Development, Education, and International Cooperation (DEICO).
Dade, F. (2023) Master's Thesis; Development, Education, and International Cooperation (DEICO).
Flam, R. (2022) F Master Thesis; Development, Education, and International Cooperation (DEICO).
Huhtala, T. (2022) . Master Thesis.
Pernthaler, M. (2022) Exploring storytelling as a method to build local knowledge: (Re)thinking sexuality education with rural women in Sucre, Bolivia from a feminist decolonial perspective. Master's Thesis.
Lampi, M. (2021) Social (in)justice and gender: the Covid-19 lockdown in Uganda. Master's Thesis.
Del Castillo Munera, L. (2021) Women’s multifaceted citizenship in rural Uganda : an exploration of identity, belonging and spaces of participation. Master's Thesis.
Mwanga, O. (2019) , Tanzania. Master Thesis.
PhD dissertations
Khan, A.K. (2025) Localization of humanitarian action : exploring the views of organizations involved in the Rohingya response in Bangladesh. PhD Thesis, Development Studies.
Ahimbisibwe, K.F. (2022) 'Poor Citizens Cannot Advocate': Learning Citizenship in Constrained Settings in Uganda, PhD Thesis, Development Studies,
Onali, A. (2021) S PhD Thesis, Development Studies
Selected publications
Ahimbisibwe, K., Aganyira, K., Nampijja, D., Mudondo, C., & Achen, S. (2025). Rhythms of Learning in NGO-Supported Village Associations in Western Uganda. Global society, Early online.
Tirivangasi, H. M., & Nyahunda, L. (2024). The interplay of Christianity and Ndau African traditional religion in shaping climate change adaptation in Zimbabwe : An Afrocentric analysis. Sustainable Development, Early View.
Tirivangasi, H. M., & Kontinen, T. (2024). An Afrocentric approach to climate change adaptation : indigenous seasonal predictors among Ndau people in Chimanimani in Zimbabwe. Disaster Prevention and Management, Early online.
Kontinen, T., & Ahimbisibwe, K. F. (2024). Saemaul Undong : Harbinger or mirage of hope for a rural community in Uganda?. Community development.
Khan, A.K. (2024). A critical analysis of the factors influencing peaceful coexistence between Rohingya refugees and host communities in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, Frontiers in Human Dynamics, .
Khan, A.K.(2024). Envisioning humanitarian-development-peace nexus in the Rohingya response in Bangladesh. Development Policy Review.
Biekart, K., Kontinen, T. & Millstein, M. (eds) (2023) . FULL OPEN ACCESS.
Matunga, B. N., & Kontinen, T. (2023). Is no One Left Behind? : Inclusive Citizenship in Practices of Self-help Groups in Rural Tanzania. Forum for Development Studies, 50(1), 83-105.
van Wessel, M., Kontinen, T. & Bawole, J. (eds) (2023) . Oxon: Routledge. FULL OPEN ACCESS.
Kontinen, T. & Bananuka, T.H. (2022) . Nordic Journal for African Studies, 31(4), 350-373.
Alava, H,. & Kontinen, T. (2022) Thematic issue on Citizenship in Uganda with 4 research articles in Vol 31, No 4.
Khan, A.K., & Kontinen, T. (2022) Impediments to localization agenda: humanitarian space in the Rohingya response in Bangladesh. Journal of International Humanitarian Action 7, 14.
Holma, K. & Kontinent, T. (eds) (2022) Cham: Palgrave.
Alava, H. (2022) . Bloomsbury.
Alava, H. (2021) Poliitikot seisovat muurahaiskeon päällä: valtionrakennusperformansseja Ugandassa. In: Tammisto, T. & Wilenius, H. (eds). Valtion antropologiaa. Tutkimuksia ihmisten hallitsemisesta ja vastarinnasta. Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura.
Interdisciplinary Approach to Climate Change: Intersecting Environmental Social Work and Sociology in Climate Change Interventions from an Afrocentric Perspective. In: Leal Filho W., Luetz J., Ayal D. (eds) Handbook of Climate Change Management. Springer, Cham.
Ahimbisibwe, K. F., & Kontinen, T. (2021) Localising SDGs in Rural Uganda : Learning Active Citizenship Through the Saemaul Undong Model. In G. Nhamo, M. Togo, & K. Dube (Eds.), Sustainable Development Goals for Society Vol. 1 : Selected topics of global relevance (pp. 37-49). Springer. Sustainable Development Goals Series.
Kontinen, T. (2018). Oxon: Routledge.
Kontinen, T. & Onali, A. (2017) Strengthening Institutional Isomorphism in Development NGOs? Program Mechanisms in an Organizational Intervention.
Kontinen, T. & Millstein, M. (2017) Rethinking Civil Society in Development: Scales and Situated Hegemonies. Forum for Development Studies, 44(1), 69-89.
Hayman, R., King, S., Kontinen,T. & Narayanaswamy, L. (eds.) (2016) Rugby: Practical Action.
