Can Civil Society Organizations Solve the Crisis of Partisan in Latin America ? Representation

This is an academic article published in Latin American Politics and Society. The authors examine “whether civil society organizations (CSOs) can and do act as mechanisms of representation in times of party crisis” by analysing the cases of Brazil, Argentina, and Bolivia. The main political events since the 2000s are discussed along with the evolution of CSOs in each of the three countries. Hochstetler and Friedman examine if CSOs in these countries develop strategies inside or outside the existing political institutions. This is a useful resource for understanding how CSOs can offer alternatives for influencing political outcomes; and how this might affect their sustainability.

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Civil society in changing India: emerging roles, relationships, and strategies

This is an academic article published in the Journal of Development in Practice.  The paper investigates how the roles, relationships, and strategies of civil society organisations (CSOs) are changing in response to other global socio-political and economic changes. It also looks at what new capacities, opportunities, and challenges are emerging as important for CSOs in these changing contexts. The authors argue that the changing socio-economic and political tableau in India has affected civil society.  The effect includes, but is not limited to, the need to engage the government at all levels in the context of shrinking political space and the difficulty in obtaining funds for operations as international agencies have rapidly closed their offices. At the same time, flexible funding that allows a certain degree of autonomy from the government and political system has particularly dried up for intermediate NGOs.

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EADI Policy Paper Series Legal Frameworks and Political Space for Non ‐ Governmental Organisations : An Overview of Six Countries : Phase II Executive summary

This report presents the second stage of a project that aims to analyse the regulatory framework and real operating environment of NGOs in six countries. For this stage, the selected countries are Egypt, Kosovo, Myanmar, Peru, Rwanda and Vietnam. As in the previous stage, the report presents individual analyses of each of the countries and also general conclusions. Among the general findings the authors highlight that “Work by NGOs (local and international) on social development issues is often actively supported. Work on human rights, governance, advocacy and ethnic or religious minority issues tends to be subject to greater legal or practical restrictions.” There is a high degree of convergence between the results of the two phases of this project. Taken together, the reports are a valuable source of information about challenges that the political space imposes to NGOs in different contexts. This report also presents recommendations for donors and INGOs.

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From Colour Revolutions to the Arab Spring: The Role of Civil Society in Democracy Building and Transition Processes

This paper, published in the academic journal Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe, discusses the role played by civil societies in the course of revolutions and their aftermath in Ukraine, Georgia, Tunisia and Egypt, assessing their contribution to the democratic transitions of post-Soviet and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions. It does so by looking at civil society as an agent of democracy, in the four countries before, during and after the revolutions. The paper argues that most CSOs in the researched countries are alienated from people: they have small memberships, very limited contact with the general public and work in the main to fulfil the requirements of various grants. To this end, the need for civil society organisations to enhance cooperation with a broader society, on the one hand, and with the government, on the other is recommended.

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Global trends on civil society restrictions - Mounting restrictions on civil society: The gap between rhetoric and reality

This report, published by the CIVICUS, highlights examples of restrictions and threats to civil society in 35 countries. According to the report, civil society groups in several of the countries studied have been forced to contend with unjust legislative obstacles, including the introduction of draconian laws restricting access to foreign funding and limiting the scope of their permissible activities. The authors also present concrete evidence of civil society activists facing heightened intimidation, harassment and reprisals, including imprisonment, for undertaking their legitimate activities and for actively engaging with the international community.

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Grassroots Movements and Political Activism in Latin America: A Critical Comparison of Chile and Brazil

This publication in the Journal of Latin American Studies, “addresses the changing trajectory of grassroots political activity in Latin America, with special reference to Chile and Brazil.” Despite being published 15 years ago, the arguments presented in this article are still valid. The author presents a brief historical analysis of grassroots movements in Brazil and Chile, and their interactions with the political arena. Foweraker claims that “social movements have declined or been transformed (or both), while non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have multiplied and become more visible.” The comparative analysis of Chile and Brazil enabled the author to conclude that “where grassroots organisations interact with the state they may be subordinated to state policy, and where they fail to interact they may be ineffective.” Grassroots organizations in these countries may consider this study when deciding whether they will benefit or not from interactions with the government.

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Legal Frameworks and Political Space for Non-Governmental Organisations: An Overview of Six Countries

This report examines the legal frameworks and political space for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) through the analysis of Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Honduras, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia and Uganda. The researchers aim to “suggest appropriate approaches for supporting civil society in difficult political contexts.” The report presents individual analyses for each of the countries and the researchers also draw general conclusions from the cases. The authors argue, for instance, that “service delivery seems to be an accepted and often expected role for CSOs but when they are perceived as engaging in more politically-sensitive areas, they are more likely to experience clamp-downs on their operations.” Problems resulting from a complex and restrictive legislation and from decrease in external funding are also highlighted. The report also presents recommendations for donors and international NGOs.

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State of civil society report 2014: Reimagining global governance

This annual report by CIVICUS provides an overview of issues affecting civil society, with a focus on space for organisations to operate, including political barriers and governance abuses. The 2015 report focuses on issues of resourcing of civil society. A series of guest essays are also available, which includes several studies on resources and philanthropy in different parts of the world. A summary of the report is also available in French and Spanish.

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