Seminar report: Confronting the state, engaging the state

Author(s): Julie Ferguson
Publication date: Tuesday 27 September 2005

Development agency Hivos and the Institute for Social Studies (ISS) launched a partnership to expand and share knowledge on civil society building in developing countries. The network kicked off with a two-day seminar, bringing together Hivos staff and counterparts, ISS researchers and students, and the broader community of development thinkers and practitioners. This report explores strategies employed by civil society organisations in various political contexts with the aim of influencing and strengthening the performance and responsiveness of the state.

Download full report Executive summary Background materials (1): list of participants Background materials (2): seminar programme & list of speakers Background materials (3): counterpart responses/case studies

Introduction
What works under which conditions, what are the opportunities and which risks do they entail? Can we find common processes in countries from different regions? Which variables seem to be of influence under similar conditions? And how can outside organisations such as Hivos improve their support to civil society organisations in engaging the state? By addressing these issues, we have also identified a number of priority themes in civil society building for the Knowledge Sharing Network, with the aim to translate these into possible research agendas and policy priorities. More...

Civil society building under adverse political conditions
Though states' histories and trajectories vary in each country context, eroding institutions raise questions of boundaries, belonging and identity in each failed state. How are these questions addressed by civil society? More...

Introductory perspectives, by Jenny Pearce (Latin America), Patrick Chabal (Africa) and Pedram Shandi (Iran).

Confronting the state, engaging the state: civil society building strategies
Civil society organisations have to be creative in their strategies employed with the aim of influencing and strengthening the performance and responsiveness of the state. Cases from around the developing world illustrate a broad range of strategies, adopted at local, national, and regional levels. These range from contestation and confrontation to co-operation with the state. Different political conditions - such as post-conflict, transitional or oppressive states - demand different approaches. More...

Case studies from Kenya (CCCC, NCEC), Nepal (SAAPE), Nicaragua (Red de Mujeres), Bolivia (CEJIS) and Uganda (KRC).

Understanding dynamics of civil society building
Civil society building is as much about action as it is a process of learning and strengthening of initiatives: why does civil society building work when it works? How can we reproduce inclusive values? And how can we set the conditions that foster successful initiatives? More...

Evaluating civil society participation (preliminary results), linking research and practice (matching interests) - 9 topics for further analysis.

Next steps: moving forward with the knowledge sharing network
After sharing a wealth of information and experience, knowledge is expanded and new linkages are made. But maintaining the momentum is always a major challenge. What are the research priorities? How can we best move forward with the existing knowledge in both the research and practitioner communities, and how to share this in a mutually beneficial manner? More...

10 topics for the CSB knowledge network to pursue research activities and policy innovation.  Sharing spaces, gender communication strategies, innovating donor policies,  social movements, citizenship...

Conclusions
In the words of plenary speaker Jenny Pearce, 'there is nothing intrinsically good about civil society'. Its main qualification, the freedom to associate, must be salvaged. This is key to civil society claiming its influence to strengthen the performance and responsiveness of the state. The conclusion examins the key questions of the seminar.  More...  

What type of civil society works under which conditions? What are the opportunities and which risks do they entail? Can we find common processes in countries from different regions? How can outside organisations improve their support to civil society organisations in engaging the state?