the rise of philippine ngos as social movement
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Report Outline
A. What is Civil Society?B. Reinterpreting Civil Society: The Context of
Philippine NGO MovementC. Historical Sketch of Philippine NGOs as Social
MovementD. Alternative Development
The Meaning of
Civil Society
What is Civil Society?
Civil society refers to the arena of uncoerced collective action around shared interests, purposes and values. In theory, its institutional forms are distinct from those of the state, family and market, though in practice, the boundaries between state, civil society, family and market are often complex, blurred and negotiated.
London School of Economics Centre for Civil Society
What is Civil Society?
• Civil society is the proper stage for the evolution and development of democratic processes, institutions and political structures.
• Civil society is an agent for achieving a good society.
Cause - oriented groups or organizations
Unelected meddlers and hecklers without any real
political base
BestBest
WorstWorst
The different institutions and units that make up civil society are:
•NGOs•POs•Registered Charities•Religious/Faith-based Institutions•Academe•Media•Business associations•Gender, political and social movements and parties•Trade Unions•Self-help groups•Advocacy groups•Basic communities where ordinary people live
Mechanisms that Encourage Civil Society Involvement
• The 1987 Philippine Constitution raises this participation and involvement to the stature of a constitutional policy.
• The Local Government Code looks at NGOs and POs as partners of LGUs in the development and promotion of the welfare of the communities.
Mechanisms that Encourage Civil Society Involvement
• RA 7941 mandates proportional representation of party-list representatives in Congress.
• The Initiative and Referendum Act recognizes constitutionally enshrined right of citizens to directly propose, enact or approve, or reject any act or law or part thereof passed by Congress or any local legislative body.
Reinterpreting Civil Society: The Context of
the Philippine NGO Movement
Concept of Civil Society
• Public Good and the Public Interests as Core Constructs
• Autonomy from the State: A Qualified Relationship of Independence
• Plurality and Diversity in Civil Society• Dynamism of Civil Society
Dynamism of Civil Society
• Dynamism is one characteristic of CS. It is transformative because:
• It is not a natural or meta-historical reality but rather develops and changes over periods of time;• It transforms as it interacts with the state; and• Conflict and contradiction is endemic to it due
to the varying interests, the plurality and diversity.
Concept of Civil Society
• Conflicts and Contradictions in Civil Society• Respect for Libertarian and Socialist Variants
Concept of Civil Society: A Brief History on the Discourse
Socrates • Conflicts within society should be resolved
through public argument using ‘dialectic’, a form of rational dialogue to uncover truth.
• Public argument through ‘dialectic’ was imperative to ensure ‘civility’ in the polis and ‘good life’ of the people
Concept of Civil Society: A Brief History on the Discourse
Plato• The ideal state was a just society in which
people dedicate themselves to the common good, practice civic virtues of wisdom, courage, moderation and justice, and perform the occupational role to which they were best suited.
Concept of Civil Society: A Brief History on the Discourse
Aristotle • Polis was an ‘association of associations’ that
enables citizens to share in the virtuous task of ruling and being ruled.
Concept of Civil Society: A Brief History on the Discourse
Thomas Hobbes• The social contract theory of Thomas Hobbes set
forth two types of relationship. One was vertical, between the Leviathan and the people; therefore, the latter submitted themselves to the former. The second system was the realm of horizontal relationship among the people. In that system, people, under the surveillance of Leviathan, were compelled to limit their natural rights in a way that would not harm the rights of others.
Concept of Civil Society: A Brief History on the Discourse
John Locke• Civil society is the arena where the
inconveniences and insufficiencies of the state of nature are rectified through mutuality of contrast and consent. He recognized the existence of a social contract between the state and civil society, with the latter being preserved as the “unconstitutional” state is dissolved.
Concept of Civil Society: A Brief History on the Discourse
Thomas Paine• He denied any positive quality and role for the
state.
Concept of Civil Society: A Brief History on the Discourse
Tocqueville• Active and strong political institutions are both
necessary and desirable for freedom and equality to be achieved. While recognizing the role of the state in avoiding strife, disorder and the violation of democratic values, he suggested mechanisms for preventing monopolies of power. He spoke of Civil Society as one such mechanism beyond immediate state control.
Concept of Civil Society: A Brief History on the Discourse
Hegel• He regarded the state as the embodiment of
the highest form of reason, and thus it was perfectly suited to regulate human affairs. Our everyday relationships in society, he said tend to be marked by conflict and confusion. The state, as the epitome of disinterested wisdom, mediates and provides direction.
Concept of Civil Society: A Brief History on the Discourse
Marx• The state, he said, is very much a product of
the conflict s of social life. It exists not to mediate but to enforce the dominance of one class over the rest of society. To understand the nature of the state and the role it plays in society, we must, he argued, look into the interplay of classes at the level of social production.
Concept of Civil Society: A Brief History on the Discourse
Antonio Gramsci• Gramsci located civil society in the political
superstructure. He underlined the crucial role of civil society as the contributor of the cultural and ideological capital required for the survival of the hegemony of capitalism. Rather than posing it as a problem, as in earlier Marxist conceptions, Gramsci viewed civil society as the site for problem-solving.
Organic Intellectuals
• Critical press • Independent POs• Social Movements• Development NGOs
Organic Intellectuals
• Vision– Society free from oppression
• Mission– Empower people
• Objective– Absorb the state into civil society
Concept of Civil Society: A Brief History on the Discourse
Jurgen Habermas• To be able to protect men and women from
the subjection of the “economy” and of the bureaucracy, he proposed a return to lifeworld conception of Civil Society – autonomy from the drive for power and profit so as to avoid succumbing to economic and political power.
Reconsidering Civil Society: Our Present Context
• Civil Society as an Organized Citizenry• Civil Society’s Power to Bargain, Negotiate and
Influence Power• Civil Society Framework: Not “Either-Society-
or-State”
Reconsidering Civil Society: Our Present Context
• Civil Society is not Devoid of Politics• NGOs as Part of Civil Society• Civil Society as “Community”
Sectoral Interests and the Public Sphere
Reconsidering Civil Society: Our Present Context
• Civil Society’s Sublation with the State– Sublation - to negate or eliminate but preserve as
a partial element in a synthesis
State – Civil Society Relations
The State Civil Society Culture of governance Aims for stability Concerned with
retention or concentration of poor
Focus on nation Growth Immediacy
Culture of resistance Works for change Concerned with
acquisition or distribution of power
Focus on communities Development Sustainability
State – Civil Society Relations
Civil Society’s Perception of the State
State’s Perception of Civil Society
Questions sincerity or motive of the state, thus reluctant to participate in state processes
Inefficient, incompetent Does not treat civil society
groups as equals
Confrontational, impatient, has appreciation for government venues and processes
Knee-jerk reaction to government actions and initiatives
Uneasy over civil society’s emergence as counter -power
Indigenization and Internationalization of Civil Society
• Indigenization of Civil Society• Internationalization of Civil Society
Some Implications for NGO Action
• Flexible and Non-fixated Action• Not An “Either-Society-or-State” Approach• Need for a Re-articulation of the State• A New Paradigm of Social Movement• Rediscover the Constituency of Civil Society• Strengthening the Internationalization and
Indigenization of Civil Society
The Rise of Philippine NGOs as Social Movement
A Historical Sketch
Objectives
• Preliminary sketch of the evolution of NGOs• Study NGOs in their collective form• Derive learning/s and stimulate further study
The Years Before 1965: A Brief Pre-History
• American Colonial Period to Post-WWII: Relief, Rehabilitation and Welfare
• The Emergence of Private Foundations: Family, Corporate and Research
• The Roots of Cooperativism in the Philippines• From Welfare to Community Development:
Anti-Communist – Inspired Social Reform
1965- 1972: The Deepening Social Crisis and the Rise of New Social Movements
• The Catholic Church: From Social Action to Total Human Liberation
• Agrarian Reform Lobby: Reemergence of the Peasantry
• Community Organizing: PECCO and the Emergence of the Urban Poor Sector
• Business Response to Social Crisis• Growth of Cooperativism
1972-1978: Coping with Repression, Carving a Niche
• Resumption of NGO Activity1. Experiments in popular organizing amidst
repression2. Continuing church involvement3. “Secular” NGOs established4. Exploration and innovation
1972-1978: Coping with Repression, Carving a Niche
• Initial Electoral Struggles• Politicalization and Ideologicalization of
Development Work • The Beginnings of National Networking: The
Examples of AF and NATCCO
1978-1983: Expansion and Innovation
• Expansion and Innovation• International Solidarity and Support Pours In• Cooperatives: Second Wave and Growing
Dependence• Networking Catches On• Continuing State Intervention and Harassment
1983-1986: NGO Support to the Surging Mass Movement
• Participation in the Surging Mass Movement• Participation in Socioeconomic Work• Strategic Partnerships with Foreign Partners:
The PDAP and PACAP examples• NGO Participation in the 1986 Snap Elections
and EDSA Revolt
1986-1992: Ebbs and Flows of a Painful Transition
• Recognition of Key Players• Proliferation of NGOs• Developments and Breakthroughs in the NGO
Terrain
Developments and Breakthroughs in the NGO Terrain
1. Basic unity in the NGO movement: upscaling through networking and coalition building
2. Lobbying and advocacy for policy reform and social legislation
3. Professionalization of NGOs4. Sustainable development as the new
development paradigm5. Stress on localization and regionalization
Areas of Continuing NGO Discussion
1. Economic developments and issues: funding, ODA and sustainability
2. NGO-PO dynamics3. Participation in the electoral arena4. GO-NGO collaboration and confrontations
5 Major Electoral Related Areas Where NGOs Could Participate
1.Advocacy for electoral reforms2.Raising electoral consciousness among the
people3.Advancement of the people’s platform of
agenda in the elections4.Direct participation through the fielding of or
campaigning for chosen candidates5.Post-election activities such as monitoring and
feedback giving
Other Developments
1. Philippine NGOs in the international arena2. Third wave of cooperative growth3. Resurgence of relief and rehabilitation
work 4. Continuation of inter-NGO tensions
1992 to the Present: Maturation and Renewal
• Sociopolitical Context: Shifting Realities and Complex Developments
• NGOs and Civil Society• Continuing Development as a Political Player
Trends Within the NGO Sector
1. Greater openness and capacity for mainstreaming
2. Advocacy shifts1. From the national to the local2. From the national to the international3. From the legislative to the executive branch of
government 4. From the more principled to the more
pragmatic
Trends Within the NGO Sector
3. Continuation/upscaling of previous involvements: “growth areas”
4. Rethinking of social organizing strategies5. Continuing internal professionalization 6. More academe-NGO cross-pollination
1992 to the Present: Maturation and Renewal
Continuities and Shifts in Development Funding
Greater Awareness for the Cultural Aspects of Development Work
RX: A Development Alternative
A Worsening Global Crisis
• Crisis of Poverty• Crisis of Environment• Crisis of Social Conflict
Economic Growth – Today’s Panacea
• The experts said that the answer is to accelerate economic growth. By accelerating economic growth we will be able to:
– Drag up the poor above the poverty line– Generate the resources to deal with the
environmental crisis– Increase military expenditure in order to
enforce order
Growth Centered vs. People Centered Development
• Growth Centered development model measures human progress by increases in material consumption. This model measures progress by increases in output.
Debt-Financed Development: A Contradiction in Terms
• What is international assistance? It’s a transfer of foreign exchange. What can you do with foreign exchange? You can buy something abroad with it.
• Now what is development? Real development is developing your capacities to use your own resources to meet your own needs.
• The fact of accepting foreign assistance ultimately implies accepting more dependence on foreign producers.
Focusing on People
BusinessBusiness
GovernmentGovernment International Agencies
International Agencies
World Bank/IMF
World Bank/IMF
Strategies of Development – Oriented NGOs: Four Generations• First Generation: Relief and Welfare • Second Generation: Community Self-Help• Third Generation: Institutional Change• Fourth Generation: Development as a
People’s Movement
Strategies of Development – Oriented NGOs: Four Generations
Generation Problem Strategy1st Problem of poverty is defined as
shortageRelief and Welfare
2nd Local poverty results from the lack of local inertia.
Community Self-help
3rd Improper institutional framework and policies
Institutional Change
4th Inadequate mobilizing vision People’s Movement
Having seen all this, you can choose to look the other way but you can never say again: “I did not know.”
William Wilberforce
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