Community

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96 Communities are where we all live, and they are not just resigned to our neighborhoods. A community includes both a geographic concept and a social concept (Figueira-McDonough, 2001, p. 11; NDI, 2009, p. 11; Miller, 1992, p. 25; Pavey et al., 2007; Yogo, 2000, p. 25). With that in mind, community is defined as a physically conceivable area, such as an administrative unit, and all of the relevant stakeholders in that area including, but not limited to residents, local administration, institutions, private enterprises with interests or activities in the area, and the civil society organizations with membership or activities within the area (based on Bowman 1932, p.

926; McMillan & George, 1986, p. 8; Morita, 2009). It should be noted that a community itself must be defined specifically by that community. Without such identification the collective function of the community is limited, as can often be seen in more urban communities.

Figure 9 displays the stakeholders of a community as a constellation within a community, coming together to define a community, as well as to facilitate and conduct the activities within it.

Community membership is not exclusive, and one stakeholder could be a member of multiple communities.

This means that even the fisherman in a small coastal town is a valuable member of the international community worthy of consideration and able to make a contribution. There is a necessary relationship between the stakeholders of a community and the actors within them may overlap. There are competing and complementary needs, desires, and perceptions among the stakeholders in a community. The depth and strength of the relationship

between the stakeholders, as well as the sentiments of the community, need to be articulated and addressed in order to improve the overall function of the community.

We need to start looking at the whole world, all of humanity and its various organizations and activities, as one global community. A question was posed about the consistency of ideology between strong and well-defined local communities and globalization. It’s not as if strong small communities are a problem per se, it’s a matter of inclusion. Do these small communities see themselves as part of a greater whole? Or do they increasingly see themselves as fortresses of ideals separate from the chaos and immorality around them?

Sadly, the trend is to the latter; which will inevitably lead to a collapse of our fledgling global system and an increase in human strife. In his recent book (2008), The Big Sort, Bill Bishop, discusses how people in the US, over the past 30 years, are increasingly moving into communities that reflect their political persuasions and comforts in life. Bishop attributes this in part to choice, noting that given the choice, people choose to go to places that reinforce their own values (Bishop, 2008; see also Bauman, 2001). This trend can also be seen throughout the world with the rise of nationalism and protectionism, from American flag-waving, to Chinese

anti-Figure 9 - Constellation of a community

Source: Author

Japanese protests, to the hesitation in EU expansion. These trends demonstrate the existing and growing desire of people to fortify the boundaries of their community in relation to outsiders and deviants. It highlights one of the surreptitious factors in communities and community building;

however, it does not necessarily diminish the value or importance of community.

With this definition of community, more than just a small neighborhood could be considered a community. One of the impetuses behind this work is to lay the foundation for the formulation of the concept of an international community. The key differentiating factor between a small community and a larger (i.e. national or international) community is the

meaning of community. If individual people can see the relationship between themselves, their government, people in other countries, and the UN, for instance, then the concept of an international community can take shape. This i

to fortify the concept of community at the smaller levels, so that people can better understand the relationships that are involved in building an international community.

The argument is a matter of incl

views of the world as a competitive power structure serve to reinforce the necessity for

of protecting interests through secular communities. In this respect, game theory is alive and well, only we keep selling one another out. How can we build a mutually beneficial international structure? How can the interests and perspectives of small communities become a vital component to globalization?

The first step in reconciling this and

begin to conceptualize the entire world as a global community. Not only do we need to envision the global community, we need to fortify the relationships and communication structure between various levels of community. In essence, there is a need

relationship between local and higher levels of community) that

communities at any level and the fortification of ties between communities. Examples of a local community could include a small coastal barangay of Balaoi in the Municipality of Pagudpud in

Figure 10 - Community Concept Model

Japanese protests, to the hesitation in EU expansion. These trends demonstrate the existing and growing desire of people to fortify the boundaries of their community in relation to outsiders and ights one of the surreptitious factors in communities and community building;

however, it does not necessarily diminish the value or importance of community.

With this definition of community, more than just a small neighborhood could be considered nity. One of the impetuses behind this work is to lay the foundation for the formulation of the concept of an international community. The key differentiating factor between a small community and a larger (i.e. national or international) community is the conceptualization of the meaning of community. If individual people can see the relationship between themselves, their government, people in other countries, and the UN, for instance, then the concept of an international community can take shape. This is one of the future visions of this work, to begin to fortify the concept of community at the smaller levels, so that people can better understand the relationships that are involved in building an international community.

The argument is a matter of inclusion and community building on a global scale. Traditional views of the world as a competitive power structure serve to reinforce the necessity for

of protecting interests through secular communities. In this respect, game theory is alive and well, only we keep selling one another out. How can we build a mutually beneficial international structure? How can the interests and perspectives of small communities become a vital The first step in reconciling this and reversing the dangerous trend of fracturing societies is to begin to conceptualize the entire world as a global community. Not only do we need to envision the global community, we need to fortify the relationships and communication structure between us levels of community. In essence, there is a need to recognize the nesting nature of the global community and the integral importance and responsibility of all stakeholders at each level down to the local community. There needs to be a conceptualizatio

implementation of disaggregated, yet interconnected international governance (Behera, 2007, p. 29;

Cling, 2002, p. 35; High &

Nemes, 2007, p. 105; Olowu, 1989, p. 222; Pierre & Peters, 2000, p. 84; Sachs, 2005, p. 242;

Voisey & O’Riordan, 2001, p.

35).

Figure 10 is the Community Concept Model, which depicts the nesting nature of community and the localization of policy and activities (concentric circles are also a good way to depict the relationship between local and higher levels of community) that are necessary for successful communities at any level and the fortification of ties between communities. Examples of a local community could include a small coastal barangay of Balaoi in the Municipality of Pagudpud in

Community Concept Model

Source: Author

97 Japanese protests, to the hesitation in EU expansion. These trends demonstrate the existing and growing desire of people to fortify the boundaries of their community in relation to outsiders and ights one of the surreptitious factors in communities and community building;

however, it does not necessarily diminish the value or importance of community.

With this definition of community, more than just a small neighborhood could be considered nity. One of the impetuses behind this work is to lay the foundation for the formulation of the concept of an international community. The key differentiating factor between a small conceptualization of the meaning of community. If individual people can see the relationship between themselves, their government, people in other countries, and the UN, for instance, then the concept of an s one of the future visions of this work, to begin to fortify the concept of community at the smaller levels, so that people can better understand the usion and community building on a global scale. Traditional views of the world as a competitive power structure serve to reinforce the necessity for the trend of protecting interests through secular communities. In this respect, game theory is alive and well, only we keep selling one another out. How can we build a mutually beneficial international structure? How can the interests and perspectives of small communities become a vital reversing the dangerous trend of fracturing societies is to begin to conceptualize the entire world as a global community. Not only do we need to envision the global community, we need to fortify the relationships and communication structure between recognize the nesting nature of the global community and the integral importance and responsibility of all stakeholders at each level down to the local community. There needs to be a conceptualization and implementation of disaggregated, yet interconnected international governance (Behera, 2007, p. 29;

Cling, 2002, p. 35; High &

Nemes, 2007, p. 105; Olowu, 1989, p. 222; Pierre & Peters, 2000, p. 84; Sachs, 2005, p. 242;

Voisey & O’Riordan, 2001, p.

is the Community Concept Model, which depicts the nesting nature of community and the localization of policy and activities (concentric circles are also a good way to depict the are necessary for successful communities at any level and the fortification of ties between communities. Examples of a local community could include a small coastal barangay of Balaoi in the Municipality of Pagudpud in

98 Ilocos Norte, Philippines. Subsequently, each level of that description could also be considered a community, i.e. Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, Philippines. In turn, all of those communities would contribute to the formulation of the Southeast Asian community (regional community), as well as the international community.

Without recognition of all stakeholders there is no respect or consideration for their well being. It has been the trend in global politics and corporate practice to ignore those stakeholders without the power or the will to adequately voice their concerns. Sometimes liberties are taken in terms of resources or rights and then justified in terms of some collective plan, security or for simple economic gain. However, it seems as though actions in which some stakeholders are disempowered and some gain is repeated over and over again at every level. One of the only recourses against those who gain illegitimately and those who are disempowered is a huge backlash (terrorism) or the powerful entity itself being consumed by its own greed (Enron or modern America) to regain balance and wait for another to usurp the balance again. The only way to stop this cycle and devastation and depravity is to begin to respect one another as important stakeholders in a global community.

The concept of the international community is still in its nascent form, while the most typical use of community is to refer to a small locality, such as a rural town or a neighborhood in an urban setting. From a development planning perspective, the community is where the action happens in a policy structure. For however grand a policy may be portrayed, the activities, e.g.

the production, the sales and purchasing, the construction, and the skills training, as well as the interpersonal communication that result in further actions, are conducted within a localized community. A community is a unit suitable for discussion, analysis, as well as policy making and management (Behera, 2007; Fults, 1993; Gariba, 1998; Robinson, 1997; Sastry &

Srinivasan, 2007; Voisey & O’Riordan, 2001).

Not only is the community a suitable unit for analysis and policy making, it is actually becoming more important in the era of globalization (Svedin, O'Rirodan, & Jordan, 2001, p. 59).

While this may seem a paradox at first, after further examination it can be seen that global markets and governance structures are increasingly interacting with local markets, producers and administrators (Miller, 1992, p. 23). Thus forcing communities to have the wherewithal to deal with their international counterparts yet still maintain their local interests.

In addition to defining community, conceptualizing community is also important so that other concepts, such as community capacity, can be elaborated, analyzed and for plans to be developed. Along this line, a community can be conceptualized as a complex adaptive network of systems that can act in concert with one another (Bogenschneider, 1996, p. 131; Figueira-McDonough, 2001, p. 3; Kime, 2001, p. 9; Kirk & Shutte, 2004, p. 235). Furthermore, a community can be construed as a single system because it is an organizing unit around other systems, such as the local economic system and the local governance system, as well as local organizations and institutions, which are also systems in their own right.

Organizations are complex adaptive systems that are dynamic and fluid, which causes the organization to be in a constant state of flux to cope with the internal and external changes caused by the struggle between various constraints. A community must work with and adapt to various stakeholders, both internal and external, in order to address the ever-changing needs and conditions that are present within their area, acting as a complex adaptive system in the same way in which an organization does.

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