What is a civil society?
Civil society is a community of citizens who are organized in pursuit of their common interests outside the state. It’s independent (i.e. not controlled by state) mass media, trade unions, fan clubs, rifle associations, political parties, environmentalist groups, gay pride organizers, faith congregations, neighborhood watches, online communities and suchlike.The state has long been the main, dominant form of social organization. Before the state came around, the social organization had been going along the lines of familial kinship. In totalitarian societies, the state tends to supplant, or fully control through party cells and secret operatives all others organizations.The modern civil society is a baby of middle classes. They need a tight network of interest groups to enforce and maintain the principles of liberal democracy. It’s their only guarantee for protection from bad government and powerful oligarchical groups, on the one side, and against legislated or violent confiscation of their assets by less privileged classes, on the other side.There’s a measure of how strong is the civil society in a particular country. Look at the number, variety, penetration and combined financial power of non-governmental organizations. The stronger they are, the more deeply entrenched is the civil society.The defining trait of any state is its monopoly on (1) violence and (2) collecting taxes. Therefore, the strength of modern civil society may be measured by the access of citizens to firearms. The balance between the state-managed system of social security and private health care, education and retirement funds can also tell a lot about the strength of civil society.In Russia, where the nation is often viewed as almost an equivalent to state, the civil society is weak. The state considers independent groups and mass media as competing centers of power. They are subject for multiple restrictions, mandatory registration, and are heavily monitored and infiltrated by the police.Cartoon below from the government propaganda channel in Russia visualize how independent (i.e. government-critical) civil groups are viewed in our country. A group of opposition activists protest against the war in Ukraine, led by an American who throws around US dollar bills. “Peace march only sounds like a nice thing.” The cleaning lady in the wake of the procession complains, “Send cleaning machines! Too much of this dirt for me to clear alone!”
What is the role of civil society in administration?
Civil society is considered as a community of citizens linked by common interests and collective activity.Civil society ‘s role in administration can be:Watchdog — against violation of human rights and governing deficiencies.Advocate — of the weaker sections’ point of view.Agitator — on behalf of aggrieved citizens.Educator — of citizens on their rights, entitlements and responsibilities and the government about the pulse of the people.Service provider — to areas and people not reached by official efforts or as government’s agent.Mobiliser — of public opinion for or against a programme or policy.Civil society acts through ‘social capital’— the capacity of people to act together willingly in their common long-term interest. Social capital is strong in a homogeneous, egalitarian society.Civil society as a whole is, therefore, unable to play its full potential role in enforcing good governance except when extraordinary leadership overcomes narrow loyalties, or when an issue is of common, major concern to all sections (like natural calamities). Smaller units of governance and decentralisation of governance are, therefore, indispensable.Individuals cannot take on the huge political-bureaucratic machine that the government is, nor can the entire civil society act on behalf of every citizen. Civil society, therefore, has to operate through compact, focused organisations based on strong social capital.Source: The Hindu
"civil society."?
Any five people on a city council, have a look at your city council and select your five.
What is civil society?
can someone please explain in simple words what a civil society is? and when you think of civil society what comes to mind? if you could chose an image to go with a title like "civil society" what would you choose? Thank you!
How has civil society led to political developments?
This question posits a possible misrepresentation. No society where government supplies services is categorized as 'civil'. A 'civil' society is one in where we demonstrate civic participation whether in the pre-war or greek sense: where citizens volunteer to participate in the management of the commons and the provision of services. We live in an managerial society postwar, where the state manages professionals (bureaucrats and their agents) for the provision of services. (See Burnham). The abuse of this term originates in the conflation of treating one another 'with civility' (without violence or coercion), with 'civic society', in which individuals participate in the voluntary organization and production of commons. We do not live in a civic society, we live in a civil society. Meaning matters. Ideas produce consequences.
What is does a civil society mean?
The term originated from the United Nations (UN), and is normally used to refer to organizations that are not a part of the government and are not conventional for-profit business. The term is usually applied only to organizations that pursue wider social aims that have political aspects, but are not openly political organizations such as political parties. civil society points out the problematic relationship between State and society in India. More than a mere intermediary between the individuals and the State, civil society appears as a form of protection, a guarantee of political participation, a “counter-weight” to the overall power of the State. Such a definition presents civil society mostly through its “palliative” function, faced to the dysfunctions of the State, and thus calls for a deep governance reform in India.
What is the difference between civil society and NGO?
Civil society is one where socio, political and economic engagements are bounded under the rule of law.NGO, is non governmental organization, who does what is like a limited function of the government but is funded through non governmental channels. WWF can be assumed to be an NGO.