Poll: By taking over roles of service delivery, civil society marginalizes the role of weak states even further.

Publication date: Thursday 02 June 2005

 Although the role of the nation state in many instances seems to be diminishing by ongoing globalization processes, the state is still a crucial actor for the reduction of poverty and inequality. Many civil society organizations consider the core of their work as influencing governmental policies, in order to enhance democratic governance and press for a more just distribution of resources, services, opportunities, etc. However, where the state is weak, politically unstable or oppressive, as in many developing countries, such civil society efforts often have very limited effects or are even completely neutralized. In cases of weak states, civil society sometimes marginalizes the state even further (with help of donor funding) by taking over state responsibilities, for example in service delivery.

The other side of the coin is, that experience – supported by recent research – indicates that civil society flourishes where democracy is strong.  A strong and responsive state is generally more conducive to the emergence of a strong civil society than a state characterized by conflicts, corruption and/or a lack of democratic governance.

This was one of the topics discussed at the Hivos-ISS seminar Confronting the State, Engaging the State - civil society building under adverse political conditions (May 2005). Report to follow shortly.

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