UNIT FOUR
1. THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN GOVERNANCE
Objectives
The main objective of this unit is to relate civil society to good governance and also
expose some prospects and challenges associated with civil society in influencing
governance outcomes in developing countries.
4.1 Introduction
Since 1990s, governance has come to dominate development debates. It has even
emerged as a very sensitive issue in the relations between rich countries and
developing countries. It is taken as one of the main criteria for donors to define their
policies and make decisions around the allocation of official development aid to
developing countries. The provision of budget support critically depends on a set of
governance conditions in partner countries. Donor countries view good governance as
an essential condition to promote sustainable development, poverty alleviation and
economic development.
1.1. What is good governance?
There are many and different ways in which good governance is defined. Good
governance refers to the sound and competent management of a country’s resources
and affairs. Good governance is the system of values, policies and institutions by
which a society manages its economic, political and social affairs, through interactions
within and among the state, civil society and private sector. It is the way a society
organizes itself to make and implement decisions, achieving mutual understanding,
agreement and action. Governance comprises mechanisms, processes and
institutions for citizens and groups to articulate their interests, mediate their differences
and exercise their legal rights and obligations (UNDP, 2000).
Good governance is the process of decision-making and the process by which
decisions are implemented (or not implemented) (UNESCAP website). The term is
applied to the exercise of power and process of decision making and implementation
in a variety of institutional contexts. It involves building consensus, or obtaining
consent or acquiescence necessary to carry out a programme, in an area where
different interests are in play. Good governance needs to fulfil two important purposes:
1) Pushing rulers to be more accountable to populations over which they claim
authority
2) Facilitate a relationship of bargaining through which the interests of the state
and those of society can be adjusted to each other so that the exercise of power
can be legitimate in the eyes of those subjected to it.
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At all levels, there will always be those who govern and the governed and there are
different governing techniques that are employed such as authoritarian or democratic
rule. Democracy is the most popular and widely accepted form of rule particularly in
the 21st century. But you will also notice that there are varieties of democracy: liberal
and what has been termed pseudo or hybrid regimes which combine both tenets of
democracy and authoritarianism. Liberal Democracies allow for not just free and fair
elections, but give chance to anyone seeking office to do so without hindrance, support
a vibrant civil society, the rule of law, access to alternative sources of information etc.
Characteristics of good governance
Good governance has 8 major characteristics. These are participatory, consensus
oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and
inclusive and rule of law (UNESCAP website)1.
i.
Participation
Citizen participation in the process of decision making is a key cornerstone of good
governance. Participation could be either direct or through legitimate intermediate
institutions or representatives. Effective communication channels are required to
enhance people’s participatory governance processes to enable the public to express
issues of concern and the public officials have an opportunity to respond to raised
concerns. Public discussions, freedom of association and expression are all necessary
ingredients for participation.
ii.
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Rule of law
http://www.unescap.org/pdd/prs/ProjectActivities/Ongoing/gg/governance.asp
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This measures the quality of contract enforcement, the police, and the courts, as well
as the likelihood of crime and violence. Good governance requires fair legal
frameworks that are enforced impartially. It also requires full protection of human
rights, particularly those of minorities and marginalized sections. Enforcement of laws
requires an independent judiciary and an impartial and incorruptible police force.
iii.
Transparency
Transparency describes the availability and increased flow to the public of timely,
comprehensive, relevant, high-quality and reliable information concerning government
activities. It requires government to promote transparency in all operational activities
especially in establishing accounting standards for performance monitoring and public
finance management. Those governed should to some degree be able to observe
what those who govern are doing. It also entails that decisions taken and their
enforcement by those who govern are done in a manner that follows rules and
regulations.
iv.
Responsiveness
Public institutions should be responsive to society and pay attention to the needs and
demands of all stakeholders. Service delivery should not be seen as a favour but an
obligation among public servants. It also requires facilitating constructive
communication between the citizens and the government, with the former providing
information not only about their needs and demands but also feedback and criticisms
on the latter’s performance.
v.
Consensus oriented
Good governance requires mediation of the different interests in society on what is in
the best interest of the whole community and how this can be achieved.
vi.
Equity and inclusiveness
A society’s well being depends on ensuring that all its members feel that they have a
stake in it and do not feel excluded from the mainstream of society. This requires all
groups, but particularly the most vulnerable, to have opportunities to improve or
maintain their well being.
vii.
Effectiveness and efficiency
Good governance means that processes and institutions produce results that meet the
needs of society while making the best use of resources at their disposal. The concept
of efficiency in the context of good governance also covers the sustainable use of
natural resources and the protection of the environment.
viii.
Accountability
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Accountability describes the essence of the relationship between the government and
those who are governed; the greater the accountability, the more the government
responds to the needs and expectations of the public it serves. Not only governmental
institutions but also the private sector and civil society must be accountable to the
public and to their institutional stakeholders. Accountability cannot be enforced without
transparency and the rule of law.
4.2 The Role of Civil Society in promoting Good Governance
Good governance results from active participation and involvement of the key agents
of governance: the government and citizen groups. The former being the supply-side
of governance and the latter being the demand-side of governance. To effectively
address governance issues such as inefficiency, non-responsiveness, weak
accountability, and abuse of discretion, initiatives to strengthen accountability cannot
be confined to one set of actors or one type of actions alone.
Public accountability must be reinforced across multiple dimensions, empowering and
developing the capacity of all stakeholder groups. Good governance is an essential
condition for strengthening institutions, and making governments more open and
accountable and even transforming the whole political context to make them more
democratic and responsive to the needs and wishes of those who are powerless and
voiceless and thereby improve the quality of their lives. The translation of government
to improve the lives of the poor is expected to happen through the mediation of civil
society.
Civil society is seen as essential in:
i.
limiting the power of the state by ensuring accountability;
ii.
monitoring and defending human rights and strengthening the rule of law;
iii.
monitoring the democratic process;
iv.
educating citizens about effective citizenship (rights and responsibilities);
v.
building a culture of tolerance and civic engagement;
vi.
incorporating marginal groups into the political process;
vii.
providing means autonomous from the state to raise the level of development;
viii.
information sharing; and
ix.
building a constituency for political and economic reforms.
4.2.1 Civil Society involvement in Policy processes
There are in general four main ways in which CSOs may attempt to influence public
policy; collaboration, confrontation, complementary activities and/or consciousness
raising. The particular action that CSOs take will reflect not only their preferences, but
the political context in which they operate.
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Among methods CSOs use to have their voice heard include Lobbying and advocacy.
Lobbying is trying to persuade (convince, sway somebody’s mind), be it a Minister, a
Member of Parliament, a Government or an official organised group that a particular
identified thing should or should not happen or that a law should be changed. To
advocate is to publicly support or propose an idea, development or manner of doing
things. Lobbying tactics are many and can be direct or indirect. The choice of method
to use depends on a number of factors including the availability of resources; nature
of the issue at hand and; the institutional force (importance of the office). Civil society
maintain contacts with strategic people in different areas such legislative wings, courts,
administrative agencies, etc. All these serve as possible entry points for their lobbying
activities.
When officials are not seemingly responsive to conventional lobbying tactics, it may
resort to some political protest or demonstration in order to attract the media’s attention
to an issue. When government begins to consider acting on an issue it had previously
ignored, we say that an issue has become part of the political agenda. Old issues may
require redefining so that people look at them in different ways. Issues may reach the
political agenda through various channels. Among them include the media, scholars
and civil society activists.
CSOs’ involvement in policy processes range from issue Identification or agenda
building all the way to policy evaluation. Agenda building is about bringing out new
issues into the political limelight. There are many challenges people confront in their
daily lives which government authorities may not be aware of or may ignore for various
reasons. For example, problems of wife battering and child defilement stand among
issues which could not be brought in the political sphere for a long time in Zambia. It
took some time before such issues were defined as political problems that required
serious attention. CSOs also engage in research and makes contributions to various
policy debates. They also play a role as implementers of public policy. Further, CSOs
also do monitor and analyse the efficacy of public policy and make suggestions for
improvements.
Ways civil society can contribute to good governance
Building state capability
• Participatory policy and budget formulation
• Delivering basic services
• Providing training to public service providers such as health workers
• Delivering civic education and raising citizens’ awareness about national policies, and their rights and
responsibilities (e.g. voting rights, democratic freedoms)
• Safety, security and access to justice: CSOs can raise citizens’ awareness about rights and services
so that official security and justice institutions are more accessible and effective.
Building state accountability
• Influencing standard setting (e.g. lobbying for legislation on transparency, adherence to international
commitments on human rights)
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• Carrying out investigation (e.g. monitoring and evaluating government programmes through social
audits, citizen report cards or participatory expenditure tracking systems)
• Demanding answers from the state (e.g. questioning state institutions about progress, parliamentary
public hearings)
• Applying sanctions where the state is found to be lacking (e.g. protests, boycotts, strikes or negative
publicity)
Building state responsiveness
• Identifying and voicing the needs of citizens, including the poor
• Pursuing social inclusion through strategies including advocacy (e.g. lobbying reformers within
government or the international community), feeding back research results and informing debates (e.g.
inequality assessments and poverty and social impact analysis) and social mobilisation (e.g.
campaigns)
Source: DFID (2007) CSOs and Good Governance: A DFID Practice Briefing Paper
4.3 Challenges of civil Society in influencing policy processes
There are many challenges associated with civil society in influencing policy
processes. Given below are some of the major challenges associated with CSOs in
influencing policy processes particularly in developing countries. However, it should
be noted that the magnitude of these challenges do vary in different contexts within
the developing world.
i.
Lack of institutionalisation of CSOs participation
The current struggle of civil society in influencing governance processes is centred
on lack of institutionalisation of their participation. The lack of institutionalised
mechanisms for citizens’ participation in policy-making processes makes it difficult for
civil society to play a more effective role. In other words, we can say that there is
weak dialogue between governments and civil society on governance issues.
However, there has been a growing trend in sub-Saharan African governments
including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe of introducing
new legislation on civil society to enhance their operations. Generally, the content of
new laws on civil society suggests that the openness of the government to civil society
participation in the policy arena has not yet been secured and properly
institutionalised and that the said legislation threatens freedom to voice critical
viewpoints among CSOs (this aspect is adequately discussed in the context of
Zambia elsewhere in this module).
ii.
Legitimacy
While CSOs have often been remarkably effective at holding governments and
corporations accountable to policies and promises, concerns about CSOs’ own
legitimacy have emerged in recent debates not only from agencies that have been
targets of civil society advocacy activities but also emanating from problematic
behavior on the part of some CSOs among other reasons. Legitimacy is about
acceptability of one’s rule. It is not usually clear who civil society represents as they
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tend to respond to multiple (and sometimes potentially conflicting) interests such as
donors, governments, and beneficiaries. Dealing with issues of legitimacy can help
CSOs define more clearly their missions and values and position them better in
influence in change in society. If questions about their legitimacy are unanswered, they
risk undermining their organizational identities and capacities that depend on values
and voluntary commitments. This aspect explored further when addressing civil
society accountability as the two concepts (legitimacy and as accountability) as they
relate to civil society are closely linked.
iii.
Organisational capacity constraints
CSOs, particularly in developing countries, usually lack adequate finances to
effectively deliver on their commitments. They usually depend on donor support to
operate. Financial constraints may have multiple effects, including the inability to
invest in capacity strengthening in CSO human capital, especially research skills and
technical knowledge necessary for policy advocacy activities, limited ability to engage
in professional communication and dissemination activities with policy actors and
heightened dependence on external bodies, which may render CSOs less
autonomous. A dearth of funds also promotes ‘short-termism’ within CSOs,
constraining their ability to adopt a more strategic long-term approach to social,
economic and political change. Heavy reliance on donor funding leads to competition
among CSOs for funding and a lack of autonomy in devising strategies for
development.
iv.
Competition among CSOs
CSOs sometimes tend to compete as opposed to cooperate among themselves owing
to influence and funding. Competition among CSOs compromises their strength as a
sector in influencing governance outcomes. This is further worsened by the absence
of a code of conduct in some countries like Zambia. This challenge has led to some
CSOs abrogating their mandate to pursue their own interests.
v.
Limited political space
Clearly, this differs markedly across Africa. Generally most CSOs tend to be
concentrated in urban than rural areas with poor coordination and collaboration on
issues. The poor distribution of civil society across society affects their ability to
effectively deliver.
Questions for reflection

Citizen participation is a very key cornerstone in upholding the principles of
good governance. Using Zambia as a case study, show the extent to which
citizens have been involved in the governance process.
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
What is good governance? Discuss how civil society can contribute to good
governance of a country like Zambia.
References
DFID (2007) CSOs and Good Governance: A DFID Practice Briefing Paper
Minogue, M. (2002) ‘Power to the People? Good governance and the Reshaping of
the State.’ In: U. Kothari and M. Minogue (2002) Development Theory and
Practice: Critical Perspectives. Hampshire: Palgrave.
Scholte, J. A. (2000) ‘Civil Society and Governance in the Global Polity’, in Morten
Ougaard and Richard Higgott (eds.) Towards a Global Polity, London:
Routledge, pp.145-165
http://www.unescap.org/pdd/prs/ProjectActivities/Ongoing/gg/governance.asp
http://www.undp.org
Weiss, T.G. (2000) ‘Governance, Good Governance: Conceptual and Actual
Challenges’
World Bank (1994) Development in Practice, Governance: The World Bank’s
Experience. Washington DC: World Bank.
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