Civil Society and Good Governance: Fortunes and Prospects in Guyana

• Author: Rashleigh E. Jackson
• Pages: 455-466

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30 R A S H L E I G H E. J A C K S O N

Public Affairs Consulting Enterprise, Guyana

Introduction

During the last two decades, there has been

renewed interest in the venerable concept of

civil society manifested in the sustained

attention it has attracted from academicians

and policy framers alike. The strengthening

of civil society has become an organizing

principle of Western donors and the

International Financial Institutions (IFIs), while

the empowerment of civil society resonates

as a theme in many societies. On their part,

governments of aid recipient developing

countries, like Guyana, recognise the

legitimacy of civil society and acknowledge

that it can play a useful role. This recognition

was encouraged by a combination of factors

prominent among which are the

conditionalities of the IFIs and the donor

community and the advocacy of domestic non-

state actors, including civil society

entrepreneurs. The relationship between

governments and civil society, however,

sometimes leaves much to be desired.

Meanwhile, a global civil society has

emerged and is making its mark on the

international scene by dealing inter alia with

transnational issues, thereby promoting human

interests as distinct from purely national ones.

The importance attached to civil society in

international affairs is reflected in several

ways. These include the convening of the

Civil Society and Good Governance:

Fortunes and Prospects in Guyana

Millennium Forum held in 2000, the ongoing

work of the Panel of Eminent Persons

appointed by the UN Secretary-General on

UN Relations with Civil Society and the

activities of global actors such as the Jubilee

Movement and the World Social Forum.

Although differing perceptions of the

meaning of civil society exist, there is a

measure of agreement on the functions and

tasks it can perform. In this respect, it is widely

recognized that civil society has traditionally

played a useful role in social welfare and

charitable work. Civil society is credited with

being effective in promoting development and

empowerment, especially at the grassroots

level. It is the case as well that civil society

actors are seen as important in advancing

democracy and good governance, and of

being capable of making a contribution to

conflict management and resolution in society.

It has been said that civil society can ‘do three

things: mediate between the individual and

the large mega structures of the market and

the state, tempering the negative social

tendencies associated with each; create

important social capital; and impart

democratic values and habits’.1 Some caution

is however warranted. The capacity of civil

society as an agent of change should not be

overestimated nor should the fact that the

universe of civil society is amorphous and may

contain dysfunctional and disruptive elements