Structured Response #2 (Civil Society)

Civil Society, particularly civil societies in the Middle East and North Africa region serve various functions in a developing society. Civil Society in its broadest sense can act as an expansion of civilized society and can serve as a limit at the same time for the direction in which the civilization will develop. Civil societies occupy a strange place of existence, in that they are different from the state and politics but are oriented towards working with both the state and political mechanics. That is the purpose of civil society in the Western sense, but in the develop non-Western world these concepts may have to be adjusted to fit the contextual needs.
          In terms of the role Civil Societies can play in broadening the space for political participation, that can be thought of in physical terms through the use of NGO's. Non-Governmental Organizations can serve to coordinate efforts on the ground to help facilitate elections. They can literally expand political participation by holding voter registration campaigns, helping people to vote on election days, lobbying for broader enfranchisement rights, and striving for less corruption in the process. In one school of thought there are seven functions of civil society: 1. protection of citizens, 2. monitoring for accountability, 3. advocacy and public communication, 4. socialization, 5. building communities, 6. intermediation and facilitation between citizens and states, and 7. service delivery. In working for these seven abstract goals civil societies can work towards broadening political participation.
        The Palestinian-Israeli conflict presents an interesting set of challenges for civil society actors, who have to work through several extra layers of struggle to help achieve their goal. These factors, such as the effects of the ongoing armed conflict and lack of peacekeeping forces, the policies of donors and the dependence by the NGO's on these donors, and the strategies and tactics used by either side and the timing of these tactics, can be analyzed and applied to other conflicts and societies in the region. Some issues such as the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory, the weaker nature of the Palestinian side, including the authoritarian tendencies of the Palestinian National Authority and infighting between Palestinian factions, in addition to the extreme leverage wielded by international powers add complicating factors that are unique to this situation. However the fact that such factors exist can be applied to other societies. If, in each case, one can draw similarities between other conflicts and isolate the differences, then civil societies can work to form broader solutions to solve the regional problems that plague MENA civil societies efforts at progress.