THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY

The role of Civil Society

The role of Civil Society

Civil Society

The idea of civil society is rooted in the writings of early European philosophers, but the concept has acquired a new relevance in contemporary debates, with the spectacular popular uprisings against regimes in Central and Eastern Europe in the 1980s. However, the fact remains that civil society is more commonly invoked than it is carefully defined.

Often the term is used to refer to the whole range of groups and institutions that stand between the individual and the state. In liberal account In a broader sense, in Rawl's liberal formulation civil society is seen as a neutral zone, in which various virtues compete. Civil society is thus desirable because it affords and sustains endless debate, thereby precluding any general consensus on the good to which society can subscribe and which it can foster in its members. In other words it presents a forum in which a plurality of doctrines can be debated within numerous voluntary associations. In contemporary era, in practise, political liberalism shows itself in liberal democracy in the western world. Thus liberal democracy and liberal civil society are two of the main ideals. It is generally recognized in the literature on the topic that the existence of an active civil society in a country is linked to the vitality of the political democracy. Civil society mediates between the household and the state so as to provide citizens opportunities for learning democratic habits of free assembly, noncoercive dialogue, and socioeconomic initiative.

Civil society and role in peace Process

When people become directly affected by armed conflict, they develop a central interest in contributing to its resolution. Despite being confronted with harsh realities and huge dilemmas, civil society actors can make significant contributions to peace processes. Their capacities may help to create the conditions for talks, build confidence between the parties, shape the conduct and content of negotiations and influence the sustainability of peace agreements.

The nature of internal conflict in the post-Cold War era provides the most compelling argument for the participation of civil society in peace processes. It is not just that the consequences of brutal confrontation between competing military powers spill over to cause death and destruction among the civilian population; more gravely, we see the deliberate and sometimes systematic targeting of the most basic units of society by the conflict protagonists. Individual citizens, the family and the community are violated, coerced and subverted as part of the political, economic and socio-cultural strategies of the armed actors. This is the front-line of modern warfare. As people become directly affected by armed conflict, they develop a central interest in contributing to its resolution. Living alongside the armed actors, they have greater need, and greater potential to take part in peacemaking efforts. And as peace processes increasingly result in changes to political, economic and social institutions and relationships in a society, people also have a right to participate in these decisions.

Examples

In Nepal, the internal conflict started a decade ago in ...