Place Of NGOS In Civil Society

Place Of NGOS In Civil Society

In spite of the confusing nature of NGOs, the theorists who study them seem to be inclined to assess this exacting form of political practice in terms of democratic theory. They try to establish how much NGOs contribute to participatory democracy. (Abahlali 2006)There seem to be a more or less equal numbers of enthusiasts and sceptics. In the mid-nineties some were quite excited. But since then the contradictions which are unmistakably clear in the practice of NGOs have led most authors to adopt a position that is midway between the extremes. (Charnovitz 1997)

A number of practical studies have now been carried out on the work of NGOs, their success and failure, the results of their actions and their political significance. Some authors approach NGOs from an entirely different angle. They go past these issues or even turn the questions around (Werker 2008), so that the key question becomes: What does the NGO phenomenon mean for our understanding of the state, government and democracy? The key concepts are those of the state, democracy and civil society. But before we approach this subject more closely it would be wise to look at some recent studies in this field.

In the beginning many people waited with great expectation to see what would become of NGOs. They thought that NGOs would form a new stage in the development of social movements. (Lyal 2005) And they expected NGOs to follow the labour movement and the new social movements as a form of citizen participation. NGOs were also expected to represent the interests of consumers and the environment at the global level. All these expectations were realistic to some extent, e.g. in so far as some NGOs and their members came from within new social movements. But, when looked at objectively and in social terms, (Abahlali 2006) this is true of very few NGOs. The new social movements covered a wide spectrum of political and, above all, social issues: environment, energy policy, transport, peace, gender relations. Socialist, anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist goals were associated with the first great wave of protest in the late sixties and early seventies. But these goals were relegated to the sidelines in the second wave of protest in the late seventies and early eighties. (Charnovitz 1997)

The global environment and support for liberation movements in the countries of the South were significant issues for only a small proportion of activists, political organisations, publishers, journals and alternative enterprises engaged in fair trade. NGOs have developed in a similar way to green parties. In the case of the latter, political activists have turned professional by engaging in party politics and going into parliament. In a small sector of the social movements, especially in the environmental field, movement activists have turned professional by founding NGOs. (Werker 2008)These two political strands became tied together towards the end of the eighties and at the beginning of the nineties as a result of the debate about sustainable development and by ...