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Our aim is to problematise the dominant discourses and practices around civil society from a Southern perspective. We first examine critically, from a broadly Gramscian perspective, the way in which the concept of civil society has been deployed in development discourse. This highlights its highly normative and North-centric epistemology and perspectives. We also find it to be highly restrictive in a post-colonial Southern context insofar as it reads out much of the grassroots social interaction, deemed ‘uncivil’ and thus not part of duly recognised civil society. This is followed by a brief overview of some recent debates around civil society in Africa which emphasise the complexity of civil society and turn our attention to some of the broader issues surrounding state-society relations, democracy and representation in a Third World context, exemplified through our case study research in Mozambique, Inhassunge district (Zambézia Province). The privileging of Western-type Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as drivers of democracy and participatory development in Mozambique have considerable implications for current debates around good governance, civil society strengthening and social accountability programmes and strategies.
In Ireland the role of development non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is rarely interrogated. There is, rather, a shared discourse across the government, NGO and academic sectors which does not really encourage critical enquiry. One of the reasons is, arguably, the reduction of support for development education that would have kept that critical lens more active. In light of the recent Oxfam and Goal scandals, we must ask if development NGOs are now ‘part of the problem’ rather than ‘part of the solution’ to use a 1960s phrase. After a brief context-setting section "Why Now?" which discusses recent events around the NGOs, we start our enquiry with a set of Deconstructions of relevant terms such as ‘development’, ‘civil society’, ‘human rights’ and the term ‘NGO’ itself, too often referred to in reverential or uncritical ways in the NGO literature and more widely. We then move on to consider whether it is a case of Irish exceptionalism which explains why the political economy of development and NGOs debate in Ireland seems so insulated from international debates.
Finally, we open up a Discussion which tries to pose some of the main matters arising from our enquiry. We understand our discussion might seem challenging to some, but we hope to spark an open debate on whether NGOs are part of the solution or, rather, part of the problem. This debate is too important to be left to the NGOs alone and requires the critical engagement of development education we would argue.
In Ireland the role of development NGOs is rarely interrogated. There is, rather, a shared discourse across the government, NGO and academic sectors which does not really encourage critical enquiry. Yet, in light of the recent Oxfam and Goal scandals, we must ask, as critical-engaged intellectuals, if development NGOs are now ‘part of the problem’ or ‘part of the solution’ to use a 1960s phrase. After a brief context- setting section Why Now? which discusses recent events around the NGOs, we start our enquiry with a set of Deconstructions of relevant terms such as ‘development’, ‘civil society’, ‘human rights’ and the term ‘NGO’ itself, too often referred to in reverential or uncritical ways in the NGO literature and more widely. We then move on to consider whether it is a case of Irish exceptionalism which explains why the political economy of development and NGOs debate in Ireland seems so insulated from international debates. Finally, we open up a Discussion which tries to pose some of the main matters arising from our enquiry. We understand our discussion might seem challenging to some, but we think we are right to pose the issues and hope we might spark an open debate on whether NGOs are part of the solution or, rather, part of the problem. This debate is too important to be left to the NGOs alone.
The Western or Northern conceptions of civil society, based on classical liberal thought, are the main reference points for interpreting civil society in the global South within development studies and practice. From a critical postcolonial epistemological perspective, we will question many of the key assumptions underlying this approach. Having been involved in the various steps of framing a civil society research project in Mozambique, a project that aimed to look at the conceptual considerations necessary for civil society studies in the global South, we share in this chapter some methodological learning generated from the project and our previous experience. We work through some of the various understandings of civil society in Mozambique based on our analysis of the country context, covering the colonial period of the late nineteenth century up to contemporary postcolonial times, and provide a brief overview of various aspects of civil society and their political-societal significance. Based on preliminary research conclusions we will then put forward some broader epistemological and methodological hypotheses for civil society research in a Southern context.
This paper seeks to problematize the dominant discourse and practice around civil society from a Southern perspective. We first critically examine the way in which the concept of civil society has been deployed in development discourse. This highlights its highly normative and North-centric epistemology and perspectives. We also find it to be highly restrictive in a Southern context insofar as it reads out much of the grassroots social interaction deemed ‘uncivil’ and thus not part of civil society.
Subsequent sections introduce a historical analysis of civil society development and a preliminary mapping of current civil society in Mozambique which begins to set out a more complex understanding of civil society, a concept sometimes reduced to the world of the NGO’s. This is followed by a report on a recent roundtable discussion with civil society actors in Mozambique that sparked our interest in this theme. This discussion also articulates a more complex and conflictual understanding of civil society than that held by many international NGO’s for example. Finally, we discuss some of the matters arising from our movement from the abstract (the deconstruction of the concept of civil society) to the concrete (our conversations with a range of civil society actors). This work is the start of a broad longer term project with partners in Mozambique seeking to map and thus better understand the complexity of civil society in a country widely seen as test case for development strategies.