POLS 2080 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Neoliberalism
9 Dec 2015
School
Department
Course
Professor
Lecture 17
Civil Society, NGOs and Social Movements in the Developing World
Civil Society
encompasses the role of regular people in governance contests about politics and
development
is both public and private
civil society exists where voluntary organizations pressure to change the rules that
govern society
Jan Aart Scholte defines cicil society
a political space where country associations deliberately seek to shape the rules
that govern social life
Civil Society Diversity
civil society organisation (CSOs) can be classified according to the issues they engage
with
CSOs mushroomed in the late 1980’s
they were crucial in pointing out the detriments of neoliberal policies
globalization has bade it easier for CSOs to organize and play an increasingly
important role
civil society encompasses many actors
some are permanently institutionalized and NGOs (nongovernmental
organizations)
others form spontaneously
they have a wide range of approaches and vary in their competencies
not all CSOs pressure fro change
some pressure for adherence to the status quo instead
Impacts on Governance
hard to establish precise influence of civil society on specific governance outcomes
Schotte suggests it is nonetheless possible to think about civil society impact on a
case by case basis
impact on institutional processes
many CSOs have become direct participants in decision making process
(world bank and climate summits)
impacts on policy content
countless civil society interventions have helped to initiate, propel, amend
or even block policy measures to create new international institutions
Legitimacy and Civil Society
is civil society always legitimate? scholte suggests that civil society engages are not
