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Growing the Grassroots: The role of civil society in democratization Andrew Conneen

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Presentation on theme: "Growing the Grassroots: The role of civil society in democratization Andrew Conneen"— Presentation transcript:

1 Growing the Grassroots: The role of civil society in democratization Andrew Conneen aconneen@d125.orgaconneen@d125.org www.citizenu.org www.citizenu.org

2 2010 Question #6 (Mean score was 1.44) Conceptual Analysis No specific country examples are needed Students are directed to write up to 30 minutes for this section 5 possible points

3 6. Many scholars think that civil society is important for the development of democracy. (a) Define civil society. (b) Identify and explain one specific condition within a political system that would enable civil society to thrive. (c.) Identify and explain another specific condition within a political system that would enable civil society to thrive.

4 Civil society is composed of organizations that are voluntary and autonomous self-governing groups created to advance their own causes. It must be clear that civil society is separate from government, but it need not be political. Must include conditions, not just examples of groups. Export as a Movie Post online Definition

5 Conditions pluralist liberal multiple points of access democratic processes free/fair elections civil rights/civil liberties freedoms of speech, assembly, press rule of law efficacy political accountability political competition political freedom political equality political transparency

6 What were common student errors or omissions? “Overall the responses indicated that most students were unfamiliar with the concept of civil society and had difficulties defining it accurately. Many students provided definitions of political parties or features of a democracy but did not demonstrate an understanding that civil society is separate from government or not necessarily political.”

7 How to teach civil society? Robert Putnam 1941- Alexis de Tocqueville 1805- 1859

8 How to teach civil society? Ben Raue 1866-1961 David R. Boyle 1948-2011

9 Russia’s Civil Society “Imitation civil society,” Masha Lipman Many NGOs remain untouched; protests have increased, especially regarding social issues; some have even succeededprotestsd Publ Public Chamber channels and funds favored NGOs; Kremlin-supported groups such as Nashi etc. groups such as Nashi et From: Janet Elise Johnson-- ”Russia’s Dual State” available at the DC Corner at AP Central

10 Russia’s Civil Society Sergei Kanayev--Sergei Kanayev Russia’s mad motorist Sergei Shoigu--Russia’s emergencies minister responding to 2010 wildfires:-Russia’s eme “According to Sergey Shoigu, in order to protect towns and villages from fires, volunteer firefighting services similar to ones in USA and Europe, should be established in Russia. “ ‘Today we have one quarter of the firefighters the USA has and half as many as Germany, if we take volunteer firefighters into consideration,” he said. “The USA has the same number of professional firefighters, and in addition to that, they have one million volunteers.”

11 China’s Civil Society More dynamic and complex nonprofit sector that has developed with governmental support. “Surprisingly robust response” to the 2008 earthquake by China’s NGOs. Britton Roney, Charity Squared Consulting

12 Mexico’s Civil Society 85 percent of all Americans belong to five or more organizations; in Mexico 85% belong to no organization. * * Fedrico Reyes Heroles Country Civil Society Organizations Per captia U.S.2 million1/150 Chile35,0001/428 Mexico * 8,500 1/12,00 0 High profile examples of individualism: Musicians Drug barons Carlos Slim

13 Mexico’s Civil Society Gay RightsGay Rights in Mexico City Adoption rights Gay marriage Both upheld by the Mexican Supreme Court in 2010

14 Nigeria’s Civil Society Questioning Tocqueville in Africa Carl LeVan Democratization January, 2011 Associations often blend state with society due to ethnic biases and corruption within the government. Hometown Associations are often an overlooked part of civil society in Nigeria. “Spirit of nationhood’ helped by the coalition that have worked to limit presidential powers. Associations based on ethnic lines can push toward “atomization.”

15 Iran’s Civil Society Iran in Ferment Ladan Boroumand The Journal of Democracy October 15, 2010 Three different groups of associations worked to influence policy during campaign of 2009: --Humans rights --Student activists --Women’s rights Government tolerated their 2009 activities because a large turnout was desired compared with 2005.

16 Iran’s Civil Society Iran in Ferment Humans rights groups emphasized the rights of Baha’i minorities that gained acknowledgement by Karrubi. Women’s rights groups had been working on the Million Signatures Campaign, then organized debates with Karrubi and Mousavi about gender discrimination. Students used the campaign to promote women’s rights, human rights and civil rights.

17 Iran’s Civil Society Iran in Ferment For the first time in Iranian politics, presidential candidates reshaped policies due to influence groups. These groups only indirectly caused the post-election protests. BUT...these groups erred in underestimating the potential fairness of the election and suffered debilitating setbacks due to the ferocious government crackdown.

18 Civil Society Make it personal!


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