Civil Society - The Appropriate Civil Society Wiki

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What is Civil Society?

The WorldBank states that civil society "consists of the groups and organizations, both formal and informal, which act independently of the state and market to promote diverse interests in society." http://www.worldbank.org/poverty/scapital/sources/civil1.htm

I can't say that this statement is wrong, but (even taking its brevity into account) I can see lots of conceptual problems.

Can we really make a separation between state, market and civil society; particularly in a LiberalDemocracy? (I'm from the UK)? If there is a de facto and de jure separation, have civil society organisations emerged in response to the absence of state and market interventions, as an independent 'third sector'? Or, is it the case that civil society (in its current form) has emerged in response to the failings of the state and market, and is therefore essentially antagonistic? And where does class fit within the civil society discourse? (After all, not all civil society organisations are fighting for the same cause.)

It would seem that much of the current debate within Development around civil society has taken place in the aftermath of the Cold War, in which a number of states have been (rightly or wrongly) attempting to make a transition to liberal democracy. But can we really frame the debate about civil society in the 'South', as it appears in the 'North'? Or does this imply a eurocentric world view of 'Development as Modernisation'?

I'd be very interested to find-out whether there is any consenus concerning 'civil society' amongst non-governmental organisations which have established themselves to try and support civil society in the South.

-- JonTaylor

Do you mind if I add another question to Jon's questions: can we look at the appearance of civil society as a self-survival reaction?

I'm an insider... and what I can see is that an active part of society (at least with such potential) tries to survive and sell their labor (which is not any more possible because of the dramatic recession in state and private sectors). The best opportunity they have is to get access to external (donor) money. Has anybody seen emergence of civil society without donor money?

I would suggest considering donor-driven development of civil society (along with more fundamental discourse on class conflict/market-state failures...). As an example, look at the recent development of civil society initiatives on gender issues (having almost no or very weak conceptual platform within and natural support of the society, but strongly promoted and financed by international actors...).

-- DavidGzirishvili

I'd agree with David's point. Within a class analysis, donor driven development of civil society could be a mechanism for sponsoring middle class jobs in country's where the labour market for state and private sector employment is weak.

Does this diminish the value of the work done by these organisations?

-- JonTaylor