ANTI-CORRUPTION EFFORTS VITAL TO POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Robin Theobald, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Polytechnic of Central London, 1990, Corruption, Development and Underdevelopment, p. 133
Whatever the strength of their underlying commitment statesmen [sic] throughout the world, especially the third world, constantly extol the virtues and absolute indispensability of efficient and honest government. If politicians and administrators cannot be relied upon, are not dependable nor above suspicion, the whole process of planning and policy implementation, any prospect of social and economic progress is undermined; the very notion of development itself becomes a chimera. Accordingly the fight against the abuse of public office is more or less a permanent feature of the political scene in many if not most UDCs.
*Civil Society Assistance Effective/Good*
Civil Society Organizations Effective
BEST WAY TO PROMOTE DEMOCRATIC RULE OF LAW IS THROUGH BUILDING UP CIVIL SOCIETY
Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow Hoover Institute, In Search of Democracy, 2016, p. 36
As Guillermo O’Donnell explains, under a rule of law all citizens are equal before the law, which is fairly and consistently applied to all by an independent judiciary, and the laws themselves are clear, publicly known, universal, stable, and nonretroactive. What makes a rule of law democratic, argues O’Donnell, is that the legal system defends the political rights and procedures of democracy, upholds everyone’s civil rights, and reinforces the authority of other agencies o horizontal accountability that ensure the legality and propriety of official actions.
The rule of law is the base upon which every other dimension of democratic quality rests. There are, to be sure, several dozen “illiberal democracies” in the world today where competitive elections and popular participation coexist with considerable lawlessness and abuse of power. Yet the very illiberalism of such regimes (including their lack off truly law-based rule) imperils their democratic character. A weak rule of law will likely mean that participation by the poor and marginalized is suppressed, individual freedoms are insecure, many civic groups are unable to organize and advocate, the resourceful and well-connected are unduly favored, corruption and abuse of power run rampant, political competition is unfair, voters have a hard time holding rulers to account, and overall democratic responsiveness is gravely enfeebled.
The most important conditions aiding the development of law-based rule are the diffusion of liberal and democratic values at both popular and elite levels; strong bureaucratic traditions of competence and impartiality; and adequate institutional and economic means. These conditions are uncommon and hard to create from scratch—hence the weakness of the rule of law in many recently established democracies (and some older ones as well). The best approach is probably to work first on gradually building up the independence, capacity, and authority of the courts. But the research literature is sobering: No amount of money and training (including generous external assistance) will suffice unless democratic leaders show both political will and appropriate self-restraint. This in turn requires a mobilized and aware civil society as well as efficient tools of democratic competition so that voters can remove officials who block reform.
STRENGHTENING CIVIL SOCIETY AND COUNTERING CORRUPTION VITAL TO THE SUCCESS AND STABILITY OF DEMOCRATIC TRANSITIONS
Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow Hoover Institute, In Search of Democracy, 2016, p. 121
The first and most basic democratic function of civil society is to provide “the basis for the limitation of state power, hence for the control of the state by society, and hence for democratic political institutions as the most effective means of exercising that control.” This function has two dimensions: to monitor and restrain the exercise of power by democratic states, and to democratize authoritarian states. Mobilizing civil society is a major means of exposing the abuses and undermining the legitimacy of undemocratic regimes. This is the function, performed so dramatically in so many democratic transitions over the past two decades, that has catapulted civil society to the forefront of thinking about democracy. Yet this thinking revives the eighteenth-century idea of civil society as in opposition to the state and, as I will show, has its dangers it taken too far.
Civil society is also a vital instrument for containing the power of democratic governments, checking their potential abuses and violations of the law, and subjecting them to public scrutiny. Indeed, a vibrant civil society is probably more essential for consolidating and maintaining democracy than for initiating it. Few developments are more destructive to the legitimacy of new democracies than blatant and pervasive political corruption, particularly during periods of painful economic restructuring when many groups and individuals are asked to sustain great hardships. New democracies, following long periods of arbitrary and statist rule, lack the legal and bureaucratic means to contain corruption at the outset. Without a free, robust and inquisitive press and civic groups to press for institutional reform, corruption is likely to flourish.
CIVIL SOCIETY PLAYS CRITICAL ROLE IN STRENGTHENING YOUNG DEMOCRACIES
Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow Hoover Institute, In Search of Democracy, 2016, p. 121
Second, a rich associational life supplements the role of political parties in stimulating political participation, increasing the political efficacy and skill of democratic citizens, and promoting an appreciation of the obligations as well as the rights of democratic citizenship. For too many Americans (barely half of whom vote in presidential elections), this now seems merely a quaint homily. A century and a half ago, however, the voluntary participation of citizens in all manner of associations outside the state struck Tocqueville as a pillar of democratic culture and economic vitality in the young United States. Voluntary “associations may therefore be considered as large free schools, where all the members of the community go to learn the general theory of association,” he wrote.
CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS WELL SUITED TO SUPPORT PROBLEM SOLVING
L. David Brown, Lecturer Kennedy School, 2008, Creating Credibility: legitimacy, and accountability for transnational civil society, p. 28
Second, credible civil society organizations and domains may be positioned to play critical roles in transnational governance and problem solving. Civil society actors have been central to many transnational initiatives on urgent social problems, including the antislavery, labor, human rights, disarmament women’s rights, and environmental movements. CSOs as value-based organizations often are sensitive to transnational issues and their impacts on otherwise invisible stakeholders, whereas governments must respond to their national constituents, and businesses are focused on market performance. Civil society leaders often have learned to create value-based syntheses of issues that mobilize voluntary energy and interorganizational alliance building. The women’s movement, for example, enhanced its alliance building. The women’s movement, for example, enhanced its international legitimacy by integrating under the concept of “violence against women” movements in many regions—burning brides for inadequate dowries in India, female genital mutilation in many countries in Africa, rape of political prisoners in Latin America, spousal abuse in North America. Framing a women’s right to be free from violence required extending the traditional concept of human rights beyond protection from state action to include protection from private action by husbands and others. The transnational arena may offer special opportunities for civil society leaders concerned about particular problems.
CIVIL SOCIETY CAN PROMOTE DEMOCRATIZATION AND SUSTAIN TRANSITIONS
Amy Hawthorne, Carnegie Endowment, 2005, Unchartered Journey: promoting democracy in the middle east, eds. T. Carothers & M. Ottaway, p. 82-3
Under the right conditions, civil society can contribute to the democratization of authoritarian regimes and can help to sustain a democratic system once it is established. In the Philippines, Eastern European countries, South Africa, Serbia, and most recently Georgia, for example, citizens have used civil society organizations to carve out independent political space, to learn about democracy, to articulate a democratic alternative to the status quo, to spread this idea within society, and to mobilize millions of their fellow citizens against repressive regimes.
In democracies, civil society organizations provide forums for citizens to pursue shared interests—political, social, or spiritual—freely, collectively, and peacefully. Through involvement in civil society, citizens learn about fundamental democratic values or participation and collective action, and they disseminate these values within their communities. Civil society movements that represent citizen interests can shape both government policy and social attitudes. By constituting a sphere of citizen activity beyond the direct control of government civil society can form a counterweight to state power.
CIVIL SOCIETY IS THE NON-GOVERNMENTAL SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS THAT CAN PROMOTE DEVELOPMENT
Benoit Challand, Research Fellow-European Institute in Florence, 2009, Palestinian Civil Society: foreign donors and the power to promote and exclude, p. 31
What is civil society?
Civil society consists of the groups and organizations, both formal and informal, which act independently of the state and market to promote diverse interests in society. Social capital, the informal relations and trust which bring people together to take action, is crucial to the success of any non-governmental organization because it provides opportunities for participation and gives voice to those who may be locked out of more formal avenues to affect change.
Social Capital and Civil Society can Promote Welfare and Economic Development
When the state is weak or not interested, civil society and the social capital it engenders can be a crucial provider of informal social insurance and can facilitate economic development.
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