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How to work with Civil Society

Introduction

What is Civil Society?

There are many definitions of the term "civil society" . It is used for different ideological and political purposes and has multiple meanings, which need careful unravelling. The notion of civil society is rooted in Western European and North American political thought and experience. This raises questions about the ability to transfer the concept and its cultural and political relevance. The issue is complicated by the tendency to confuse how things should be in an ideal world with how things actually are.

Most definitions of civil society move beyond a narrow focus on developmental non-governmental organisations to include trade unions, business associations, employers' associations, advocacy groups, faith groups, trade associations, recreational groups and so on. However there is a tendency for some donor agencies to reduce civil society to non-governmental organisations. By overlooking the significance of other actors, donors risk devising strategies and programmes which leave out important agents for change.

While the debate about the precise nature of civil society will continue, here is a useful definition.

There is much debate about the boundaries between civil society and the state and the market:?

• Civil society and the state: In socialist political systems, the communist parties set up mass organisations to represent the interests of certain social groups. There is disagreement about whether these organisations are part of the government or civil society.
• Civil society and political parties: It can be argued that if a political party gains power, then it becomes the government and cannot be described as part of civil society. However where does this leave the vast majority of party members who do not achieve government office? They may organise autonomously within the party. Some parties have their own civil society organisations. For example, the main parties in Germany have established foundations, such as the Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung and Friedrich-Naumann Stiftung , which among other things, carry out development work in the South. In other instances civil society organisations have transformed into political parties or stimulated their development. For example, the trade union movement in the UK gave rise to the Labour Party .
• Civil society and the market: There is also a question of the non-profit nature of civil society organisations. Civil society organisations often engage in many profit-making activities. However profits are usually not distributed to their owners or directors, but ploughed back into the organisations. Under a strict use of the definition above, associations such as co-operatives and mutual societies would be excluded from civil society. However mutual aid societies are often regarded as important players in civil society.

The definition above does not explain the distribution of power within civil society and whether civil society benefits poor people. This requires discussion of values and ideology. The definition above provides a tool for capturing what is out there, but it needs to be accompanied by relevant questions about the social and political meaning of civil society.