Civil Society Organizations

in Social Development

Archana
Satya Priya
Shaiju Chacko

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 Modes of social development

1. Government-led development: welfare state –

concept to ameliorate the adverse social situations
resulting out of industrial revolution and colonial
regimes in post WW-II situation

2. Community-led development:
• Church, rotaries in the west. In India,
• Gandhi Sewa gram model, Tagore’s Shriniketan model of
rural development in India

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 Challenges in Democracy
(situating CSOs)

• Horizontal (Associational) Problem

– Do all citizens enjoy equal associational capacities?
• Barriers to association (social exclusion)

• Vertical (Institutional) Problem

– Can all citizens effectively engage the state as citizens?
• Quality of engagement: mode of intermediation
• Surface area of engagement

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Civil society constitutes the third sector, existing
alongside and interacting with the state and
market/private sector.

• State

•
• Market Civil
•

• (Pvt Sector)• Society

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 Why Civil Society?
• Post cold war period: The collapse of soviet systems
led to a resurgence of the idea of civil society as a
necessary social space for building and sustaining
democracy through the capacity building of liberty
loving citizens.
• Due to major changes in the recent decades - the
styles of governance under the impact of rising public
demand for social services that the state alone is
unable to meet successfully.
• A change in the outlook of the post globalised era
where traditional supplier role of the state is challenged.

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 Civil Society

• Civil Society has been characterized as an agent for

limiting authoritarian government and working
towards popular empowerment.

• Civil Society’s role in the provision of public goods

and services in supplementation of state and its
particular role during civic emergencies like floods
and earth quakes have received universal acclaim.
Hence civil society is considered as an essential
prerequisite of good governance.

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The elements of civil society range from groups
based on religion and ethnicity to more fluid voluntary
associations organized around ideology,
professionalism, social activities or the pursuit of
money, status, interest, or power.
They range from circles of friends … to single purpose
political advocacy groups.
Civil society also includes communities, like formally
organized religious settlements, with their implication
of primary socialization, strong attachment, and
common history and expectations

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Distinction of a civil society from other intermediary
organizations, i.e. interest groups, pressure groups,
NGOs, CBOs, religious organizations, ethnic
organizations, professional associations etc. calls a
tight definition.

Civil society, therefore, is a secular forum

that crosses religious, ethnic and political
boundaries, and its backbone comprises
independent, conscious and educated people

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Prerequisites for strong civil society;

a) the existence of rule of law; conditions that effectively

protect citizens from state arbitrariness,
b) the existence of strongly organized non-state groups,
capable of checking eventual abuse of power by those
who control the means of administration and coercion
c) the existence of balanced pluralism among civil
society interests so that none can establish absolute
dominance

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“Instead of being lured by the false notion that progress must
come at the expense of freedom, you built the institutions upon
which true democracy depends - free and fair elections, which
enable citizens to choose their own leaders without recourse to
arms; an independent judiciary and the rule of law, which
allows people to address their grievances; and a thriving free
press and vibrant civil society which allows every voice to be
heard.” 
Barack Obama, President USA
Address to the Indian Parliament
Nov 08, 2010

UN Millennium Project Report (Investing in Development)

“strong civil society engagement and participation are crucial to
effective governance.”

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 Salient Features of CSOs
• Refers to non state organization
• Refers to all citizens outside the government
• It covers a large space in society
• It is in pursuit of common public good
• It opposes authoritarianism
• Important prerequisite for vital democracy
• Advocates pluralism to reduce the domination of the
state
• Facilitates citizens’ participation in politico-administrative
affairs
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 Roles of CSOs
1. Engaged in mobilization of social actors; women, dalits,
labour etc
2. Representing the interests of the specific groups in
government-society interactions
3. Engaged in monitoring and evaluating government
activities on behalf of society
4. Engaged in developmental activities; commonly known
as development NGOs. This includes improving equity
or stimulating particular kind of developmental action
which enhance the well-being of the poor and the
socially marginalized.
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 CSO for Social Development
(impacting good governance)

A. Public policy and decision making

B. Transparency and information
C. Social change through social activism
D. Supplementing government efforts
E. Working for social justice

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A. Public policy and decision making
• CSOs can play a role in mobilizing particular
constituencies to participate more fully in politics and
public affairs
• Institutional innovations like democratic decentralization
to promote local involvement in decision making can
be effective only if grass-root organizations and social
movements can organize the poor and articulate their
demands.
B. Transparency and information
• Activities from within society to promote the goals
include the discovery, publication and dissemination of
information about issues on legislation, legal provisions,
public expenditure allocations, implementation of
policies and programmes and other inquiries.
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C. Social change through social activism
• CSOs put pressure on governments to achieve various
social goals such as; changing forest development
policies, improving the conditions of housing/slum
dwellers etc..

D. Supplementing government efforts

• Can take form of Public-Private Partnership in which
CSOs work closely with state institutions in designing
and providing services and monitoring quality and
coverage.

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E. Working for social justice

Two dimensions;
a) advocacy role of specialist human rights
organizations in pressing the implementation of
existing laws, demand for legislative initiatives and
to improve the functioning and accountability of
state policing and security organs.
b) protective role – in sheltering individuals
threatened by repressive state, defending rights
through official legal process. (for example; legal
aid -Association for protection of democratic rights)

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 Examples
• NGOs (MKSS, Pradan, Jagori etc)
• Panchayati Raj
• French Protests
• RTI activists
• All social movements (NBA, Chipko etc)
• Protests in Kashmir….??

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 Problems/challenges
• Power & power imbalances between small and big civil
societies
• Bridging narrow interests and broader goals
• Articulation of a coherent vision for a more just and
equitable global system
• Challenge of being political/apolitical:
• Civil societies of new democracies are functioning mainly as
opposition to the state authority rather than developing themselves
as apolitical organizations.
• Challenge of legitimacy and related transparency,
representation and accountability
• Accountability: is upward to the funders and not downward to those
they actually serve.
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 References

1. Mohit Bhattacharya; New horizons of Public Administration

2. Fadia & Fadia; Public Administration
3. Peter Eigen; Role of Civil Society (pdf)
4. Patrick Heller; Deepening Democracy- Civil society and local
governance in India (pdf)
5. Krishna Hachhethu; Civil Society and Political Participation
(pdf)

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