Civil society (CS) is the group of non-governmental actors and citizens of a state. In my opinion, this includes political parties, NGOs, news stations, and the masses. Oftentimes, non-governmental groups and organizations are the best examples of civil society, because as Christopher Spurk defines it, "civil society [is]...an arena of voluntary and uncoerced collective action around shared interests (3)." As long as the members of these groups don't hold political power themselves, they are representative of some sect of the public opinion.
The main purpose of civil society is to mobilize through activism and civil disobedience to show their leaders what the public interest of the people is. This can be in forms of peaceful or violent protests, publishing news articles, communications through social media, and even through the voting process. They are also responsible to stage a coup d'etat when their government no longer has the support of the people.
The Palestinian case for civil society is unique in the region. It has a strong history and is comprised of a plethora of different secular and non-secular groups. Overall, Palestinians are an active citizenry, and thus have been very influential on letting their government know what they wanted. The strength of Palestinian CS has been exacerbated by the formation of extremist militant groups like Hamas, which often tends to overshadow the efforts of peaceful civil society organizations. This unfortunately sets a rather violent precedent for the MENA region. As we have seen throughout the past year or so, CS actors and groups trying to stage coups have turned violent, almost into civil wars (in the case of Syria). Unfortunately, because many of the MENA states lack strong civil societies, it is difficult for the people to get past this violence. It won't be until the CSs in region gain strength and structure that they will effectively and peacefully overthrow the despotic regimes that govern them.
-Alexandra Hart
No comments:
Post a Comment