Teaching and Learning Guide for: From Local to Global to Transnational Civil Society: Re‐Framing Development Perspectives on the Non‐State Sector

Abstract

Author's Introduction* •Civil society has become one of the most popular concepts within international development discourses. But, what is civil society? Civil society is defined as an arena of collective social interaction situated between the state, market and household, encompassing a range of non-state organisations, groups and associations, including non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The article assesses the range of different interpretations of civil society highlighting its diverse makeup at local, national and transnational scales.* •Why has civil society become so important within international development? Democracy and delivery of services. As people organised collectively against totalitarian regimes in the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and the Global South, civil society emerged as a manifestation of democratisation processes. The neoliberal agenda also wanted to capture and channel civil society to foster democracy, but also to take on service delivery functions as the role of the state diminished. This article outlines how these roles relate to two theoretical viewpoints – the Marxist or Gramscian that sees civil society as a site of resistance and counterhegemony, and the liberal democratic that views it as a beneficial force for good.* •Civil society in practice. In the 1990s, development agencies championed civil society from an undertheorised liberal democratic viewpoint as a saviour or ‘magic bullet’ as it channels more and more funds via NGOs. But, civil society has increasingly been criticised as undemocratic, unable to reach the poor and unaccountable. This article describes this evolution.* •The emergence of global or transnational society. In these days of globalisation, global civil society is increasingly important. This is neither civil society at a global level, nor is it a unified global force for good, lobbying and challenging the neoliberal order. Instead, viewed as ‘transnational civil society’, it is a complex mix of competing, overlapping and intersecting groups that operate beyond national borders for a range of reasons. Especially important actors in transnational civil society are diasporic civil society groups in the form of migrant associations. This article argues that as international migration increases, these groups are growing in economic, social and political importance, yet we do not know very much about them.Author Recommends* 1Anheier, H., Glasius, M., and Kaldor, M. (eds) (2004). Global civil society 2004/5. London: Sage.This book is one of the annual reports on the nature of global civil society produced by the Centre for the Study of Global Governance at the London School of Economics. It has a range of interesting articles and is available to download at http://lse.ac.uk/Depts/global/yearbook04chapters.htm* 2Howell, J., and Pearce, J. (2001). Civil society and development: a critical exploration. London: Lynne Rienner.This book provides an excellent overview of the theoretical and empirical debates about civil society at a national level. It provides a range of examples from around the developing world.* 3Lewis, D., and Opoku-Mensah, P. (2006). Moving forward research agendas on international NGOs: theory, agency and context. Journal of International Development 18, pp. 665–675.This article is an engaging review of the main themes revolving around civil society and development in relation to international NGOs in particular.* 4Mercer, C. (2002). NGOs, civil society and democratization: a critical review of the literature. Progress in Development Studies 2, pp. 5–22.This article is an excellent state-of-the-art review of the relationships between civil society and democratisation from a development perspective. It outlines the main theoretical approaches and assesses them in relation to development policy.* 5Mitlin, D., Hickey, S., and Bebbington, A. (2007). Reclaiming development? NGOs and the challenge of alternatives. World Development 35 (10), pp. 1699–1720.This article outlines the issue of why NGOs have been so popular with development agencies and why this popularity is on the wane.* 6Mohan, G. (2002). The disappointments of civil society: the politics of NGO intervention in northern Ghana. Political Geography 21, pp. 125–154.This article outlines the main thinking about civil society and then illustrates it with an interesting case study from Ghana.* 7Munck, R. (2007). Global civil society: royal road or slippery path? Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations 17, pp. 325–332.This article is one of the most-up-to-date accounts on the advantages and disadvantages of global civil society.Useful Links* •http://www.jhu.edu/~ccss/ website of the Centre for Civil Society, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA. This site reports on policy-related research on civil society and other more practically oriented projects.* •http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/CCS/ website of the Centre for Civil Society, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK. This site publishes a range of research papers on civil society and runs academic events.* •http://www.nu.ac.za/ccs/ website of the Centre for Civil Society, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Durban, South Africa. This site provides a Southern perspective on civil society, mainly from a research perspective, but also including practitioners’ news and views.* •http://www.civicus.org/ website of CIVICUS (World Alliance for Citizen Participation). This site provides resources, debate and campaigning action. An example of a transnational civil society group.* •http://www.civilsocietybuilding.net/ website of Civil Society Building network. This site provides information among network members, most of whom are practitioners and activists.* •http://www.un.org/issues/civilsociety/ website of the United Nations (UN) Civil Society unit. This site provides information on projects and policies of the various UN agencies.* •http://www.worldbank.org/civilsoceity/ website of the World Bank Civil Society unit. This site provides information on World Bank projects and policies that engage with civil society.* •http://www.globalpolicy.org/ngos/index.htm/ website of the Global Policy Forum which monitors UN policy and provides opinion pieces on relevant issues. This site focuses specifically on NGOs (rather than civil society) from the perspective of their relationship with the UN.Sample Syllabustitle: non-state perspectives on development issues: exploring civil societyWeek 1: What Is Civil Society?This session explores what civil society means and discusses the range of different groupings that have been proposed to describe it.ReadingsBebbington, A., and Bebbington, D. (2001). Development alternatives: practice, dilemmas and theory. Area 33, pp. 7–17.McIlwaine, C. (2007). From local to global to transnational civil society: re-framing development perspectives on the non-state sector. Geography Compass 1 (6), pp. 1252–1281.Mercer, C. (2002). NGOs, civil society and democratization: a critical review of the literature. Progress in Development Studies 2, pp. 5–22.Week 2: Theoretical Perspectives on Civil SocietyThis session outlines the main theories that have been used to describe and explain civil society. It will discuss the liberal democratic approach (which includes the liberal pluralist and neoconservative viewpoints) and the Marxist or Gramscian approach.ReadingsMcIlwaine, C. (1998). Contesting civil society: reflections from El Salvador. Third World Quarterly 19, pp. 651–672.McIlwaine, C. (2007). From local to global to transnational civil society: re-framing development perspectives on the non-state sector. Geography Compass 1 (6), pp. 1252–1281.Mohan, G. (2002). The disappointments of civil society: the politics of NGO intervention in northern Ghana. Political Geography 21, pp. 125–154.Week 3: Civil Society as a Development Actor I: Roles and FunctionsThis session explores how civil society and especially NGOs have been increasingly drawn into development policy and projects. In particular, it examines what NGOs actually do on the ground in projects and why they are attractive to donor agencies.ReadingsEdwards, M., and Hulme, D. (1996). Too close for comfort? The impact of official aid on non-governmental organizations. World Development 24, pp. 961–973.Howell, J., and Pearce, J. (2001). Civil society and development: a critical exploration. London: Lynne Rienner.Lewis, D., and Sobhan, B. (1999). Routes of funding, roots of trust? Northern NGOs, southern NGOs, donors, and the rise of direct funding. Development in Practice 9 (1–2), pp. 117–129.World Bank. (2005). Issues and options for improving engagement between the World Bank and civil society organizations. Washington, DC: World Bank. Downloadable from http://siteresources.worldbank.org/CSO/Resources/Issues_and_Options_PUBLISHED_VERSION.pdfWeek 4: Civil Society as a Development Actor II: Magic Bullet?This session explores the problems entailed in donors channelling funding through NGOs from the perspective of funders and NGOs. It also explores the more recent disillusionment with NGOs and civil society being viewed as a ‘magic bullet’ for addressing and solving development concerns.ReadingsEdwards, M., and Hulme, D. (1996). Too close for comfort? The impact of official aid on non-governmental organizations. World Development 24, pp. 961–973.Lewis, D., and Opoku-Mensah, P. (2006). Moving forward research agendas on international NGOs: theory, agency and context. Journal of International Development 18, pp. 665–675.Mitlin, D., Hickey, S., and Bebbington, A. (2007). Reclaiming development? NGOs and the challenge of alternatives. World Development 35 (10), pp. 1699–1720.Week 5: How Useful Is Civil Society as a Concept and as a Tool for Development?This session summarises the main debates about civil society at the national level in relation to development debates. It examines whether the r