To What Extent Can Civil Society Organizations Influence Government Policy - Essay Example

Running Head: To what extent can civil society organizations influence government policy? Introduction The concept of civil society has its origin many centuries ago in Ancient Greece. The emergence of the modern day concept of civil society was brought about by political theorist influence such as Thomas Paine and George Hegel in the 18th century. According to Carothers (2007), these political theorists developed the concept of civil society as a sphere of influence that was parallel to the state and at the same time separate from it. Renewed interest in civil society emerged in the 1990s following the changing trends towards democracy in the word and the need for better social services as a result of various reforms in different countries as well as structural adjustments. According to Young (2005), civil society may be defined as any organization which works in the arena between the state, the private sector, and the household, for purposes of negotiating issues of public interest. The civil society involve a wide variety of institutions which function differently at different levels such as local, regional, national, and global level. As such, civil society may include institutions such as community groups, Non-Governmental Organizations, research institutes, advocacy groups, think tanks, academic institutions, trade unions, parts of the media, faith-based institutions, and professional associations. There are several features that are associated with a fully fledged civil society which include: formed by individuals who have common needs; it is separate from the market and the state; values and interests like tolerance, equality, cooperation and inclusion, and the development processes cannot be easily influenced or interfered with by external factors since the civil society has it autonomy and independence. It is therefore worth noting that civil society are not necessary Non-Government Organizations (NGOS) but rather they are a broader concept that embraces all associations and organizations such as Non-Government Organizations that exist outside the market as well as the state. The term policy is generally used to describe a purposive course of action that is undertaken by a particular actor or sometimes a set of actor. Policy process therefore includes aspects such as setting of agenda, policy formulation, making decision, implementation, evaluation, and monitoring. Policy influence may be used to denote the way in which the external actors are able to act together with the policy process in an effort to have an effect on the policy approaches, behavior, and positions at all levels. It should be noted that in every policy component there are a number of processes, institutions and actors involved, some of the actors involved might only play a few roles at particular points of the policy process while others may be important throughout the policy process. For this reason, civil society organizations that seek to influence government policy should have an understanding of the actors as well as the institutions that are involved in policy processes right from the informal to the formal level. Such knowledge would enable the civil society organizations to single out the pressures and incentives on the persons involved. These coupled with the communication approach needed and the type of evidence may go a long way in maximizing the possibility of policy influence (Anheie et al. 2001). Discussion The process of democratization throughout the world has had appositive impact towards allowing civil society organizations to have an open space in the political arena, and as such a more active role in influencing government policy. It has been argued that democracy can only be realized when the voices of the people are responded to by the policy makers and when the marginalized and vulnerable groups in the society take part in the competing interests of the marketplace. In a report release by the World Bank in 2002, the civil society organizations have become key actors in the global development finance, and as such, they are to a greater extent influencing the structure of national and indeed global public policy. As mention earlier, the increasing focus among the public and policy makers on the importance of greater transparency and good governance ahs also present the civil society organizations an opportunity to step in as major actors in the business development and other related fields. The demand for civil society involvement in the process of policy formulation have over the years increase following the argument that they now play a imperative role especially in the implementation of government formulated policies particularly the policies that are geared towards poverty alleviation and sustainable development (Carothers 2007). Since the civil society organization are bases and have direct contact with the citizens at the grassroots level, the y can significantly influence government policies relating to those citizens since the CSOs are well aware of the innovations and experiences at the grassroots, and they can effectively use such knowledge for purposes of improving government policies and strengthening structures and local capacities for ongoing participation of the public. The civil society organizations may employ a number of strategies to influence government policies. These strategies include: persuasion, education, collaboration, confrontation, and litigation. According to Burt (2002), the civil society can have a greater influence on government policy through education in the sense that, the civil society organization avail to the government with surmountable information, policy alternatives, and in depth analysis. The civil society can use education to influence government policy a great deal through creating experimenting innovative development advancements that the can be agreed to by the state. Education can be undertaken through organizing conferences, initiation of pilot projects, workshops, and physical visits. For this strategy to have an impact across the board, it must also target the media, community members and the public at large. Through persuasion the civil society organizations takes a key role as a pressure group in the effort of influencing the government to make particular changes in its policy while at the same time showing the public support for the changes. Through persuasion, the civil society organizations highlight the need for policy changes that ought to be address by the government and the necessary legislation which may be incidental to the required changes. Persuasion may be done through conferences, meetings, workshops, strikes, invitations to the site, demonstrations, and lobbying. These activities can greatly influence government policies. The civil society organizations can also influence government policy through collaboration. This is where the civil society organizations works hand in hand with the government to achieve a particular objective (Heinrich 2005). The civil society organizations can indeed achieve a greater influence in the government policy through a good relationship which generally entails mutual trust between the two entities. This kind of relationship allows transparence between the corroborating entities. As such, the civil society organizations may play a vital role in the government policy since they are party to it. The civil society organizations can further influence government policy through litigation. This means that the civil society organization may use the judicial system to agitate for changes in government policy. The government or any other organization may be taken to court b y the civil society organization, if there is a misapplication or default of a particular law. To this extent therefore, government policy can be greatly influence by the intervention of the civil society organization through the court. Confrontation by the civil society organizations is another way in which government policy may be greatly influenced. Confrontation of the government by the civil society organizations may take the form of protest against a particular policy issue. More often than not, these protests involve destruction of property, violent demonstrations, and boycotts. This state of affairs brings about hostility between the government and the civil society organizations. Nevertheless, it serves as a powerful avenue through which the government can be forced to make changes in particular policy issues (Young 2005). Conclusion Indeed, the civil society is widely acknowledged as an indispensable third sector. According to Carothers (2007), the strength of the civil society can have a positive impact on both the market as well as the state. The importance of civil society has therefore increases drastically in the recent years as it has played an important role across many countries in terms of promoting good governance such as responsiveness, transparency, accountability, openness, and effectiveness. To a greater extent therefore, the civil society can influence in a positive way various government policies particularly those that touches on matters of public concerns. There are a number of ways in which the civil society can influence and enhance good governance (Wetherly & Otter 2011). This may involve participation of the civil society in policy analysis and advocacy, secondly the civil society can be involved in monitoring and regulation of state performance as well as monitoring public officials behavior and action, in addition the civil society may influence government policy through building social capital as well as facilitating the public to articulate and identify their democratic practices, beliefs, values, and civic norms. The civil society may design various development activities that are aimed at alleviating the community wellbeing and the country at large. The civil society may also have an influence on government policy through their initiative to mobilize certain constituencies, especially the marginalized and vulnerable groups in the society to be more involved in public affairs and politics. References Anheie, H., et al., 2001. Global Civil Society Yearbook. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Burt, R., 2002. Structural Holes: The Social Structure of Competition, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Carothers, T., 2007. Aiding Democracy Abroad: The Learning Curve, Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Heinrich, V., 2005. ‘Studying Civil Society Across the World: Exploring the Thorny Issues of Conceptualization and Measurement’, Journal of Civil Society, 1 (3): 211-228. Wetherly, P., and Otter, D., 2011.The Business Environment: Themes and Issues. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Young, J., 2005. ‘Research, Policy and Practice: Why Developing Countries are Different’, Journal of International Development 17(6): 727–734. Read More