10. Political actors: citizens & civil society Flashcards
colour revolutions
- started in yugoslavia
- protests against election fraud
- wanting to get rid of the autocratic leader at the time
- georgia rose revolution learned from this
- orange revolution ukraine and tulip revolution kyrgyzstan followed
- shows that it doesn’t always work out, ukraine needed two protests
early 2000s
arab spring
- started in 2010 tunesia with street vendor setting himself on fire because he couldn’t buy food for his family anymore
- blew up everywhere in the arab world
- shows how influential social movements can be
- doesn’t mean that you successfully consolidate a democracy, getting rid of an authoritarian ruler is easier
what do social movements show regarding democracy and autocracy
- in autocracy citizens protest to get a democratic transition
- in democracy citizens protest to improve democracy
- even in authoritarian regimes that are very controlled and surpressed you still see uprisings, they’re just not always successful
what is civil society
- citizens organising in voluntary organisations, which are autonomous
- wide range of voluntary organisations, only some have a political agenda
- among those with a political agenda there are differences in types and moments of influence
civil society organisations with a political agenda
- interest groups
- social movements
- political parties
all are sub-sets of civil society organisations
all have a political agenda
interest groups
- represent specific interests of groups of citizens in society
- usually quite organised and don’t want to overthrow the system they’re trying to represent the interest of the people they represent
- seek to influence, not form, government
- examples are business associations, trade unions, patient bodies, student associations, consumer associations, churches, etc.
social movements
- bring together a range of civil society organisations
- aim to bring about social and/or political change
- often broader agenda than interest groups
- more temporary, focus on a specific event
- think of extinction rebellion, womens marches
political parties
- broad agenda covering many issues
- connections to many civil society organisations
- seek to become part of government
determinants of power for civil society organisations
- resources
- organisation
- leadership
- insider vs outsider: insider for effective lobbying, outsider putting issues on the agenda
- mainstream vs radical agenda
- involvement of citizens
- connection to international movements: can help in terms of funding and strategy, can undermine legitimacy in authoritarian regimes when they label organisations as foreign agents
how political context affects success of civil society organisations
- important political event: specific moment to point out injustice and mobilise people
- changing. public opinion: need level of dissatisfaction to a level that it can spark
- emergence of unlikely coalitions: example egypt military on citizens side, australia farmers and green organisations work together to prevent gas drilling, need broad coalitions to bring about change
how do CSOs affect democratic transition
- put pressure on governments by creating protests, if you have wide support actors within the coalition may choose your side
- organise support before protest
how can CSOs affect democratic consolidation
CSOs as watchdogs/accountability check on power:
- monitoring government and holding government accountable for its actions
CSOs as effective interest representation:
- connecting citizens and government by representing and defending citizens interests
CSOs as schools of democracy:
- promoting democratic values among citizens
- teaching citizens democratic skills (capacity to organise themselves) in order to achieve particular goals or express particular demands
- promoting citizens capacity to organise
CSOs as bridging organisations
- bringing together citizens from diverse backgrounds
- create connections between citizens that cross political and societal divides
- increasing tolerance and decreasing polarisation
more examples of democratic skills are talking to media, organise protests
can civil society undermine democracy
- can push for limiting political rights and civil liberties
- can support/sustain authoritarian government
- can distort representation (input) and policy implementation (output)
- can promote political and economic inequality
- can promote democratic erosion
think of KKK, anti-system parties
civic space
- civic space represents the circumstances in which civic engagement takes place
- the features of civic space determine the size, shape, and way of operating of civil society in a certain context
civic space features
- freedom of association
- freedom of expression
- freedom of peaceful assembly
if any of these freedoms are not present, civic space will be restricted
how is civic space restricted
- lack of legislation or failing to implement legislation (for example under authoritarian regimes, democracy on paper but not in practice)
- targeted legal and financial barriers against civil society (russia and ethiopia restrict foreign funding of organisations)
- smear campaigns (damage reputation)
- corruption (restricting civil society in opening bank account, get visa, register etc.)
- (counter)terrorism, ‘state of emergency’, pandemic control
state of emergency and civil space
france after terrorist attacks
in france after terrorist attacks:
1. exceptional powers for french authorities including:
2. right to set curfews
3. limit movement of people
4. prohibit mass gatherings
5. border control
6. after attacks climate conference, protests that were planned couldn’t go through, is this shrinking civil space?
7. more so changing boundaries of changing space, because civil society will find different ways
creative ways to expand, defend, and create civic space
- visual art
- humor
- social media
- disguise/functional self censorship
- dance and performance
