Civil Society in Bangladesh Dr. M. Jashim Uddin NSU Sequence of the Lecture What is civil society? Significance of Civil Society Who are the Civil Society? What are the role of Civil Society in Bangladesh? What are the limits of Civil Society in Bangladesh? Concluding Remarks and some Recommendations What is Civil Society? • Definitions: • A Civil Society is comprised of groups or organizations working for the interest of the citizens but operating outside of the governmental and profit sectors. For instances, non-profit, non-government organizations, faith groups, etc. • Civil Society is sometimes referred to as the civil sector. For example, the United States is made up of three sectors: the public sector; the private sector; the civil sector, which includes the organizations that act in the public's interest. Significance of Civil Society • Paradigm Shifts • Modern-day national security discourse is no longer confined to traditional domains of state and military centric security; a variety of Non-Traditional Security issues like hunger, malnutrition, environmental degradation, ethnic conflict and violence emerge. • Emergence of the concept of Human Security (Mahbub ul Haq, UNDP 1994); free from fear and free from want; it challenged the mutually assured destruction • This shift in security makes Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) a natural stakeholder in discourse and practice of security. Who are the Civil Society? • Civil society includes voluntary organisations, social welfare organisations, community based organisations, research organisations, advocacy groups and media. • addition the following groups can be included in Civil Society Religious leaders, faith communities, youth groups, grassroots associations and activities at local level. • How about online groups and activities including social media? Can we consider social media as civil society? Are NGOs Civil Society? Even if some kind of consensus has developed around the concept of civil society, practical problems of inclusion and exclusion remain. NGOs in Bangladesh seem to have become a natural entry in civil society because of their role in various sectors. Nonetheless, should all NGOs be considered as part of the civil society? Many NGOs are part of the market process, although they claim to be non-profit organisations. Many perhaps work for themselves more than for the communities for which they seek and mobilise funds. Role of Civil Society in Bangladesh • The role of civil society organizations (CSOs) depends on the nature, scope and objectives of the organizations. 1. Academic Research, Dissemination and Publication Academic research is the channel for finding out the cause and effect of a social problem more systematically. A good number of research organisations conduct intensive academic research on various socio-economic, political, and security issues, and provide policy recommendations. They organise seminar and conference and publish journals to disseminate knowledge. For example, CPD, BEI, BIISS. Role of Civil Society in Bangladesh 2. Advocacy and Watchdog The CSOs in Bangladesh have a watchdog and advocacy role in various human rights issues. For examples, the roles of Ain o Shalish Kendra (ASK) and Odhikar for an independent judiciary, police reform have been vital. They expressed their deep concerns for the extra-judicial killings/ Crossfire in the country. • Bangladesh Women Lawyers’ Association (BNWLA) is notable for protecting women’s rights. Role of Civil Society in Bangladesh 3. Producing Policy Papers and Policy Briefings CSOs usually undertake research on specific issues to contribute to public policy making. Despite having limitations, some of them have made valuable contribution. The role of CPD as a leading CSO can be considered in this respect. Contribution of Public Policy & Governance Program (PPG) of NSU, BIDG of BRAC University can be referred in this regard. 4. Civil Society-Donor Partnership Due to limited resources, most of the NGOs depend on aid donors. With funding from donor agencies, BRAC’s initiatives on countrywide family planning programmes, primary education, promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment have been notable. Role of Civil Society in Bangladesh 5. Governance Role Civil society in Bangladesh has played a proactive role in promoting democracy in Bangladesh, e.g., Ersahd Regime in 80s. In general, the pro-democracy and rights-based role turns out to be antiestablishment. However, the current role of the civil society in promoting good governance is not beyond criticism. 6. Securitisation Civil society creates awareness among the mass people and the policy makers about various issues such as dysfunctional politics, terrorism, minority rights, human rights, corruption, freedom of speech and so on. Role of Civil Society in Bangladesh 7. Providing Security to Target Groups Some NGOs make significant contribution in providing livelihood, food, health services and protection of minority rights. NGOs such as Bangladesh Protibondhi Foundation (BPF), Community Development Library (CDL), Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed (CRP), OXFAM Bangladesh. • In addition to the above role, CSOs provide education, training and other capacity building; encouraging citizen engagement and supporting the rights of citizens. Limits of Civil Society in Bangladesh • Civil society organisations in Bangladesh suffer from various limitations or weakness. The lack of a proper role of civil society can be both cause and effect of an immature democracy in Bangladesh. • For a matured and tolerant democracy, a robust civil society is inevitable. • Similarly, without a strong democracy, building an effective civil society is unrealistic. • However, it seems that civil society is totally polarised. Why don’t we have an effective civil society in Bangladesh? What are the key obstacles or challenges to build such a civil society? Limits of Civil Society in Bangladesh • 1. Partisan Tendencies of Civil Society Civil society in Bangladesh is far from being non-partisan. It is evident that civil society in particular some intellectuals and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) are directly or indirectly involved in partisan politics. The university professors’ are divided in blue, white and pink colours. It is polarised, politicised and intolerant like their patron political parties. Therefore, it is difficult to find any independent voice among most of them. Limits of Civil Society in Bangladesh 2. Civil society can’t function in Authoritarian or Immature Democracy • An effective civil society can not be built in an authoritarian state. The civil society must be allowed to express the virtue of their knowledge to prosper the nation and society. • However, there are different views; for a democratic government a strong civil society is not necessary. For instance, Japan, France, Spain have a low civil society participation and weak civil society. Why? Limits of Civil Society in Bangladesh 3. Patron –Client Relations It is claimed that some individuals or CSOs try to get fund from donors/ big powers for their narrow self-interests. The patron-client relationship and dependence on donor agencies ultimately jeopardise the effectiveness of CSOs, and damage the interests of the nation. 4. Lack of Interaction between Civil society and Government There is a lack of interaction between the policy makers and civil society. Sometimes, the civilian bureaucrats are reluctant to take into account the policy recommendations from the civil society. At least two reasons can be mentioned: 1) habitual bureaucratic mentality not to accept new ideas; 2) due to lack of a clear idea about what civil society is. Limits of Civil Society in Bangladesh 5. Limited Resources Bangladesh is one of the least developed countries. But the list of the insecurities/problems it has been facing is long. CSOs are required to have a vast resource to resolve the number of socioeconomic problems in Bangladesh. However, the limited resources are a major impediment for proper functioning of civil society organisations. Concluding Remarks and Recommendations • The government cannot alone ensure the vast problems in the society. Hence, the civil society has a vital role. • • • • Recommendations: Civil Society members or organizations must stop partisan politics. They must close down the patron-client relations. Giving a clear boundary of civil society based on their activities and motivations is needed. • Civil Society must provide critical evaluation of public policy • Must focusing more on marginalized groups (Children, Women) • Minimizing the differences between political parties during crisis.
