Md. Shairul Mashreque and M. Abul Kashem Mozumder :
Inclusive civil society is a synonym for participatory public, new institutions and democratic values. The concept of participatory publics demonstrates ‘how the expansion of civil society led to the creation of participatory, deliberative policymaking institutions. Participatory publics comprise organized citizens who seek to overcome social and political exclusion through public deliberation, accountability, and implementation of their policy preferences. New institution means institutionalizing participation with new concepts in a rapid changing society. Democratic values put the public first-we mean public participation. According to Wikipedia:
The term civil society goes back to Aristotles phrase koinonía politik? occurring in his Politics, where it refers to a ‘political community’, commensurate with the Greek city-state(polis) characterized by a shared set of norms and ethos, in which free citizens on an equal footing lived under the rule of law The telos or end of civil society, thus defined, was eudaimonia (t? e? ??? tò eu zen) (often translated as human flourishing or common well-being), in as man was defined as a ‘political (social) animal’ (???? p???t???? zoon politikón). The concept was used by Roman writers, such as Cicero, where it referred to the ancient notion of a republic (res publica). It re-entered into Western political discourse following one of the late medieval translations of Aristotle’s Politics into Latin by Leonardo Bruniwho as a first translated koinonía politik? into societas civilis. With the rise of a distinction between monarchical autonomy and public law, the term then gained currency to denote the corporate estates (Ständestaat) of a feudal elite of land-holders as opposed to the powers exercised by the prince.
Now the question that may arise is: how does civil society shape ‘the institutional framework for new policymaking venues’? Institutionalism and civil society both indicate inclusiveness. They contribute to inclusive governance. So we have explanations of institutional dynamics under the democratic values of participatory civil society. It comprises organized citizens ‘who seek to overcome social and political exclusion through public deliberation, accountability, and implementation of their policy preferences and participatory budgeting.
Although we have a democratic tradition, there are still too few openings for civil society to participate in social and political decision making, or to demand transparency and accountability in the activities of the government and administration. The relationship between the state and civil society is not without conflict. Civil society is not inclusive by and large influenced by the influential members of policy community. Ordinary masses are far away as disadvantaged locus in the whirlpool of tycoons’ preponderance. In fact civil society organizations almost without participation of the ordinary masses or masses without computer knowledge participate responsibly in the formulation, implementation and monitoring of governance reform processes and poverty reduction policies.
In the age of communication and information civil participation is wide open. Yet computer literacy is must for participation in a meaningful way. Now ‘a crisis of democracy has been provoked by contemporary globalization but with the increasing usage of the social networks (Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc.) and mobile communication devises (smartphone, e-pad, etc.), various international institutions found the way to organize web-debates with a civil society. To cite an expert’s view” Theoretically civil society might make positive contributions to democratic governance. Reliable information and analyses can be provided to governance agencies by civic associations which hear the voice of different social circles. In this way civic activism can empower citizens and shift politics toward greater participatory democracy. However, democracy is changing and developing. E-participation, e-democracy and citizens initiatives may play an increasingly important role in the modern civil society. We should look into the benefits of e-participation like European Citizens Initiatives in the EU (e.g. Fraternité 2020, Let me vote, Right to water, or online petitions) for citizens, decision-makers, and civil society.”
According to Putnam, “the voluntary associations of civil society are where this learning occurs. Putnam articulates this understanding of the relationship between liberty and good government as social capital: in the small-scale setting of the bowling league or the local union organization, individuals learn the habits of cooperation, reciprocity, and trust that are necessary for all collective endeavors, including good governance. Citizens must make the personal choice to join and participate in community life and voluntary associations. Various areas of global governance are spanned effectively by the growth in civil society participation. With the end of the Cold War, there has been big attention to the “democratic deficit” of the United Nations and other inter-governmental institutions. International institutions like the United Nations with an historical record of no or limited access have slowly and gradually opened up to civil society actors. An absolute absence of civil society access to international institutions is exceedingly rare today.’
So, inclusive civil societies are growing in a rapid stride with the development of globalization. As a result the impact of civil society to international institutions becomes inevitable. ‘Given the great distance between global institutions and citizens around the world, information technology appears ideally suited to bridge the communications gap that otherwise would be nearly insurmountable.’
(Prof Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque is a retired professor, Public Administration, Chittagong University and Prof. Dr. M. Abul Kashem Mozumder is Pro-VC, BUP).
