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Strengthening democracy: can CSOs help?

The creation of a workable democracy is a prime concern for many conflict-torn societies. A challenge faced in the past by Bosnia and Uganda, it is one that Afghanistan is likely to have to face in the near future. How far can civil society organisations (CSOs) help (re)-build democracy?

This Institute of Development Studies (IDS) report examines the role of democratic governance in conflict-torn societies: how should decentralisation be handled in societies split by multi-ethnic, religious and political differences? How can local interests be represented? Do CSOs that focus on identity politics have a negative influence on democracy? Can such CSOs help restore peace and political legitimacy despite their political bias?

In answering these questions, the report firstly argues for a broader definition of civil society to include all private interest groups. The report examines the role of CSOs in post-conflict Uganda and Bosnia, to show how apparently similar strategies can produce vastly different results. In Bosnia, a weakened central government led to a high level of autonomy for ethnic groups, which threatened the integrity of the state. In Uganda, strong centralized power vested in the president used decentralisation to fragment interest groups and create a politics of competition for presidential patronage. The report then describes ways in which democracy , at its most minimal level, can become a system for conflict management arguing that even the most ethnically divided society can be ‘managed’ if political competition is structured to be centripetal and coalitional and not exclusionary and destructive.

Findings include suggestions that:

In principle the success of decentralisation depends, firstly, on the extent to which minority groups are concentrated geographically, secondly the number and balance of such groups (bi-polar divisions being most dangerous) and thirdly, on how far the regime can tolerate regionalised political power bases.
If a regime is nervous about providing an institutional base for political rivals, it will often adopt a decentralisation scheme which deliberately fragments local power bases into non-politically significant units.
Perhaps the most crucial factor in determining the strength and potential of any CSO is its degree of embeddedness in society: it is this which gives it a ‘constituency’ and autonomy.
Even if CSOs are not democratically organised or do not fully articulate democratic values, agreement on the ‘rules of the game’ may be sufficient to underpin ‘democracy in process’, particularly in deeply divided post-conflict societies.
Cultural, ethnic and religious associations cannot be excluded from the democratic process, even though their values may not be democratic.

Policy implications include:

The role of CSOs should be studied in relation to the politics of decentralisation.
In looking at questions of ‘institutional design’ it is important to be aware of the different types of civil society action and of their implications.
The enhancement of horizontal accountability needs always to ask: to whom is the state more accountable?
Forms of inclusivity and power-sharing must recognize the Janus-faced character of civil society and avoid entrenching minority vetoes, or creating political paralysis.

Source(s):
‘Strengthening Democratic Governance in Conflict-torn Societies: Civic Organisations, Democratic Effectiveness and Political Conflict’, IDS Working Paper #129, by Richard C. Crook, revised February 2001 Full document.

Funded by: Department for International Development, UK

id21 Research Highlight: 26 February 2002

Further Information:
Richard C. Crook
Institute of Development Studies
University of Sussex
Falmer
Brighton BN1 9RE
UK

Tel: +44 (0) 1273 678276
Fax: +44 (0) 1273 621202 / 691647
Contact the contributor: richardc@ids.ac.uk

Institute of Development Studies (IDS), UK

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