*Topicality/Definitions Democracy Promotion Includes Military Intervention
Civil Society Assistance Fails: Conflicts with Foreign Policy Goals
Download 2.51 Mb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- CONCERN ABOUT CIVIL SOCIETY OPPOSITION TO US FOREIGN POLICY LIMITS EFFECTIVENESS OF ASSISTANCE
- FOREIGN POLICY AND STRATEGIC GOALS IN THE MIDEAST UNDERMINE EFFECTIVENESS OF CIVIL SOCIETY ASSISTANCE
- U.S. FUNDING FOR CIVIL SOCIETY COUNTEPRODUCTIVE BECAUSE U.S. MOTIVES ARE QUESTIONED
Civil Society Assistance Fails: Conflicts with Foreign Policy GoalsDEMOCRACY ASSISTANCE TO EGYPT FAILS BECAUSE OF CONFLICTING GEO-POLITICAL AND STRATEGIC GOALS Imco Brouwer, Mediterranean Program Coordinator-European University Institute, 2000, Funding Virtue: civil society aid and democracy promotion, eds. M. Ottaway & T. Carothers, p. 40 U.S. civil society assistance in Egypt and Palestine has multiple goals: developing civil society organizations; contributing to political liberalization and democratization, as well as to economic development and social change; and ensuring Palestinian support for the peace process and Egypt’s continuing commitment to peace with Israel. Those goals are not necessarily compatible and, as a result, U.S. policy has not been consistent, sending contradictory messages to authoritarian incumbents and ordinary citizens alike. A stronger civil society could hamper the peace process, for one thing. Furthermore, the opposition to existing authoritarian regimes in both Egypt and Palestine is made up of Islamists, nationalists, and leftists who—for their different reasons and with their different demands—have a political agenda at odds with donors’. Sometimes opposition groups are simply anti-Western and against liberal democracy. It is thus difficult for donors to support such forces but turning away from them means turning away from the authoritarian regimes’ most effective opponents and running the risk of supporting actors that will not make a difference. CONCERN ABOUT CIVIL SOCIETY OPPOSITION TO US FOREIGN POLICY LIMITS EFFECTIVENESS OF ASSISTANCE Mustapha Kamel Al-Sayyid, Professor Cairo University, 2000, Funding Virtue: civil society aid and democracy promotion, eds. M. Ottaway & T. Carothers, p. 49 A major paradox of U.S. foreign policy lies in its proclaimed commitment to support the transition to democracy and consolidation of civil society in countries of the South and of the former socialist bloc on the one hand and its open hostility to certain types of political movements that have become major actors of those countries’ incipient civil societies on the other. Washington’s hostility stems not from the fear that these movements will turn on the rest of civil society once they gain a measure of power, but from the fact that the organizations that make up the movements oppose some aspects of U.S. foreign policy. The U.S. posture toward Islamist movements in Arab countries illustrates this paradox and eloquently demonstrates the far from total commitment of post-Cold War U.S. administrations to supporting the development of civil society everywhere. Islamist organizations in Arab countries are among the staunchest defenders of civil and political liberties, including freedom of association, without which civil society cannot survive. Nevertheless, the U.S. government withholds supports from them, even as it seeks to assist the incipient civil society. FOREIGN POLICY AND STRATEGIC GOALS IN THE MIDEAST UNDERMINE EFFECTIVENESS OF CIVIL SOCIETY ASSISTANCE Marina Ottaway & Thomas Carothers, Carnegie Endowment, 2000, Funding Virtue: civil society aid and democracy promotion, eds. M. Ottaway & T. Carothers, p. 307 But other fundamental problems in the implementation of civil society assistance cannot be easily solved or even ameliorated, and are likely to remain a problem. In particular, clashes between a donor country’s interest promoting democracy and its other foreign policy interests are difficult to avoid. The Middle East offers abundant examples, as Al-Sayyid and Brouwer show, but it is not unique. The United States’ commitment to democratization and thus to civil society promotion in that region is counterbalanced by its commitment to maintain friendly relations with the moderate Arab autocrats who support the Arab-Israeli peace process and by its desire to maintain ready access to some of the world’s major oil reserves. In this sensitive environment, U.S. policymakers become acutely aware of the potentially destabilizing effect of strong civil society organizations. Officials are particularly cautious in their choice of groups eligible for assistance, which lessens the impact of programs.
Francesco Cavatorta & Vincent Durac, International Relations Lecturers Dublin City University and University College Dublin, 2011, Civil Society and Democratization in the Arab World: the dynamics of activism, p. 149 From the Arab-Israeli conflict to the occupation of Iraq, from the boycott of Hamas and Hizbullah to support for authoritarian rulers in the region, Western policies taint their interventions in the region in support of democracy and human rights, which are commonly perceived as hypocritical and insincere. It is therefore no surprise that the promotion of civil society activism, despite its well-meaning intentions, also suffers from a problem of legitimacy. This has three consequences. One, as mentioned earlier, is that the funding provided to human rights and democracy groups is the subject of contestation because of the perceived illegitimacy of the source of funding. Thus, both regimes that are notionally pro-Western, and Islamists can argue that groups in receipt of such funding are subject to foreign influence and therefore somewhat illegitimate in what they do. The second consequence is that the values of human rights and democracy are associated with unpopular policies, which further undermine their appeal. Finally, the conditions placed on such foreign funding are such that they turn many local NGOs into professional fund-raisers rather than helping them to become better activists.
Directory: assets assets -> Northern territory of australia assets -> Number: caveat in the [Will/Will and Codicil/Estate of] assets -> Invitation for Bid Calact/mbta for Standard Floor and Low Floor Rural Duty Vehicles ifb no. 12-03 November 14, 2012 assets -> 12 Step Retreats For Everyone in Twelve Step Recovery Ratner Fellowship assets -> 12 Step Retreats For Everyone in Twelve Step Recovery Ratner Fellowship assets -> Sigaccess annual Report assets -> Central Government is expected to ask the seventh pay commission to consider merging 50% dearness allowance assets -> List of accessible executive records assets -> Emergency telephone numbers Call toll-free from anywhere in France Download 2.51 Mb. Share with your friends:
|