Advocacy, protection of interests,
control of power
Ferenc Péterfi
The situation of independent
activities before 1989
- Organisations independent from the sate were
under a cloud – even if they had no political
ambitions
- Their strengthening could change the system of
political control: not the state controls its
citizens but the civil society controls the state
(the ones in power)
- Movements: youth clubs, amateur theatre
groups, beat movement, folk dance movement
After 1989 – 1990
Possibilities of independency:
– Active, hands-on stakeholders are involved in political parties
– Functions related to different fields of interest, hobbies, leisure,
services become defining
Asymmetry:
Advocacy, protection of interests, control of power by society
are not typical goals of organisations under establishment, and of
the Hungarian NGO sector
„External contractors”, taking over duties from local governments
Significance of participation
• While the system of representation becomes onesided, the individual and/or community participation
frequently withers
• Therefore people tend to hand over competencies
related to activity and participation to others, they do
not feel it is their responsibility to take the initiative
• If local community participation withers for a longer
term (expressing opinions, taking action, acitve
cooperation), its need and know-how erodes in the
local communities
Powerless → empowerment
Getting from a powerless, helpless state
to an influential state
Empowerment and empowering
the local community
To emphasise that:
- I am/ we are the key,
- it depends on us,
- I/we have to believe that together in a
community we are able to take action,
- to initiate changes (confidence)
Empowerment:
- eliminating the feeling of helplessness – I can
influence my environment
- the possibility and need to share experiences
- the feeling of being understood and accepted and
that it can bring change
- expressing and emphasising that we are
competent in community (local?) issues
Creating competent citizens as a socialcommunity goal.
„Learned helplessness”
Developing learned helplessness in
individuals:
- the person believes that (s)hes is
devenceless
- unable to take action and
- (s)he should not confront with the ones in
power
„Learned helplessness”
• people’s percpetion of loosing control
• we feel unable to take action, we act with a
passive, avertive behaviour
Politics-free = independent?
In the political processes of the sociaty there are many
stakeholders: parties, tradeunions, NGOs.
They confront with each other in a virtual field:
articulation of interests, goals-methods, developing
channels of activity, setting priorities, decision
making, distribution of resources
Negotiations, deliberations, confrontations, arguments
go on, resulting in coalitions, consesus.
Lobbying affect decisions made in this field.
Politics-free=independent?
If civil society leaves this field it is immediately
replaced by influental political parties.
Stakeholders pretending to be independent easily
give the floor to party politics, which represent
certain interest groups.
Namely the chance for independence and for
social control are taken out from the political
field.
Possible advocacy functions
(according to Éva Kuti)
I. Enforcement
II. Initiative open advocacy
III. Defensive advocacy
IV. „Infiltration” into the process of decisions
making
Main barriers of the successful
protection of interests and control
of power
• Depending on resources: organisations taking over
duties frequently depend on those whose social
responsibilities they take over (local government,
state)
• Do not wish to confront them as it jeopardises
their services (resources/funding?)
• Their chance to question the structural reasons
behind the problems is curtailed
Conditions of successful protection
of interests and control of power
•
•
•
•
•
Awareness, preparedness of civil society
Strong community consciousness
Possibilty to employ experts
Time for consultations, negotiations
Know-how of negotiation, tolerance of
confilcts
• Trainings, independent resources,
supporting institutions
The successful protection of interests and control
of power requires partial division of power and
handing over the power!
Thank you for your attention.
Ferenc Péterfi
peterfi@kkapcsolat.hu