The role of civil society in democratization

Tariq Abdullah
Translated by moatinoon

Civil society organizations are defined as the third route or the sector that ranks third after the public and private sector. The fundamental role of its establishment is to realize citizens wishes and will collectively or individually in a society independent of Governments.

Civil society organizations, from parties, community committees, voluntary associations, factional initiatives and other social forms, play an important role in the process of building societies on the concepts of freedom and justice by raising awareness of the rights and duties of the State and members of society among citizens. This helps citizens to participate in public action and the political process in greater numbers as a result of awareness-raising campaigns, identifying electoral options that represent and reflect their aspirations and wishes, and holding accountable the authority that fails in its duties towards them or fails to fulfil their aspirations.
Civil society organizations also work to promote democracy through the process of networking societies around common goals and the supreme principles of the democratic system, thereby contributing to and promoting the building of a State with a fragile, robust and entrenched democratic system.

Individuals, members or volunteers of political civil society organizations, known as parties, play an essential role as a source of information and thus reduce barriers between society and power, thereby enhancing the process of collective action in the management of their countrys affairs.

It also plays important roles in the process of determining the States authority by influencing legislation and laws governing the life of society to create the balance required in promoting the principle of separation of powers.

Political parties are regarded as miniature versions or models of those governing the State. It plays an essential role in the process of sensitizing and training members on how to regulate decision-making in a democratic system.

Some sociologists also consider that non-political civil society organizations play an important and vital role in the democratic process of building social capital and how a society deals with a number of social issues, challenges or practices. This helps and promotes collective decision-making in cases of, for example, dealing with a health or environmental threat. To the benefit of all members of society, all this underscores the validity of the studies that States where civil society is strong are firmly established democracy.

Some studies have gone far that the international community has formulated what is known as the concept of an individuals daily routine within a modern democratic society. This is very important in promoting the idea of a democratic society, or what is known as confidence-building rather than control, and this is important in the democratic systems sustainability process.

Some views show that it is not important and necessary to have some form of civil society organization to build a vibrant democratic system. It may also be a key input or player in the processs failure or downgrading of a democracy, as was done in Weimar Republic or the German Reich, the first German republic declared in the city of Wimmer and not long lasting. (1918-1933), where civil society organizations played a key role in creating a major social polarization process that led to the extension of the concept of national sovereignty, following the failure of the political system to meet the economic and social needs of a broad section of the German people. This has made it easier for Nazi cadres to infiltrate and penetrate these social organizations and to use them as political leverage to win elections in 1932 and overthrow the State. In the German case, many civil society organizations played a pivotal role in the failure of the democratic system and Germanys first nation of people.

Given todays modern democracy models such as the United States of America, civil society organizations play the role of the link between citizens and the State. They often play an important and vital role in protecting personal freedoms from State invasion. Philanthropic organizations, despite their significant role in the process of strengthening Americas democratic system, often divert elements of large groups of activists around various social issues, which can be seen as a development within the democratic system that will contribute to the consolidation of the addition of other values.