What is civil society

1
What is civil society?

• The implications of its definition for public
  policy making
• Presentation by Judith Richter
• World Civil Society Forum, Geneva, 18 July 2002

2
Motto of this Forum

• If the UNs global agenda is to be properly
  addressed, a partnership with civil society is
  not an option it is a necessity.
• Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General, 1999

3
Is the shift in UN terminology from NGOs to CSOs
to the advantage of the peoples of this world?
4
The definition of civil society determines
whether or not this partnership with the UN
increases or rather decreases the influence of
the worlds citizens on the global agenda
5
In July 1997 Kofi Annan unveiled a long-awaited
UN reform proposal that was the result of a
team headed by Maurice Strong, .. former CEO of
several large corporations who had headed the
preparations of the Rio Conference a few years
earlier The report emphasized the role of
civil society not only as disseminator of
information or provider of services but also as
shaper of policy. Civil society referred to
nongovernmental organisations, academic and
research institutions, parliamentarians, and
corporations.The United Nations and Business
A Partnership Recovered Tesner (with Kell), 2000
6
The report stated openly that the relationship
of the UN system with the business community was
of particular importance. It added that it
would be timely to develop better means of
consultation between the United Nations and the
business community. The secretary-general also
announced that he would avail himself of the
mechanisms proposed by the International Chamber
of Commerce and the World Economic Forum (the
organizer of the annual Davos conference) to
facilitate such consultation.The United
Nations and Business A Partnership Recovered,
Tesner (with Kell), 2000
7
Implications of classifying corporations and
business associations as civil society

• Distinctions and clarity are lost when business
  actors can use labels such as civil society
  organisation (corporate citizen,
  stakeholder, partner, major group, or NGO)
• Business actors gain political influence by
  strategically using the civil society label
• Citizen action groups find it hard to argue for
  exclusion of business associations from policy
  debates (e.g. on international regulation of TNCs)

8
What can be done?
9
Call on UN agencies to clarify their definitions

• How do you define civil society organisations?
• How do you define the private sector?
• Do you include major corporations and their
  business associations in the category of civil
  society organisations, that of the private
  sector, or in both categories?

10
Call on UN agencies to clearly distinguish
between citizen associations and organisations
of capital (Krut 1997)

• Both, NGO and CSO, classifications should exclude
  business associations
• Corporations, business associations, and
  foundations which are led by business philosophy
  should be classified in the private sector
  category

11
Reinforce a civil society concept which is useful
for the advocacy of public interests

• Civil society
• neither state nor market

12
Argue

• Civil society organisations are composed of
  citizens who come together to advance various
  causes of citizens
• Civil society organisations cannot be composed of
  corporate employees and managers who come
  together to advance the (enlightened)
  self-interests of for-profit companies

13
Argue If UN agencies make no distinction between
two fundamentally different categories of
non-state actors

• Democracy, the rule by the people for the
  people, will be replaced increasingly by
  plutocracy, the rule of money