Vilified as alien wolves in local sheep’s clothing, human rights NGOs and independent media groups have been cut off from their outside funders and tyrannized in country after country from Armenia to Zimbabwe. Along with others, OpenDemocracy has regularly drawn attention to this trend, with disturbing reportage from Central Africa to Central Asia and from Eastern Europe to East Asia.
This is the story of ‘shrinking civic space’ under authoritarian governments. The story is true, at least in so far as it goes. But does it go far enough? In many cases the answer is no, and here’s why: the space for civil society is actually being re-shaped, not simply curtailed; the forces underlying this process are much more complex than is commonly supposed; and international influences – not just domestic repression – add powerfully to these forces. This re-framing is important because it signposts where legal and political leverage can be activated to protect and enhance the transformative potential of civil society organizing.
In this new frame, the first point to note is that ‘progressive’ NGOs aren’t the only occupants of civic spaces - they’re just one type of organization among many. They may have high visibility, but on the ground their presence may be marginal amidst a wider array of associative life such as clubs for sport and culture, business associations, secret societies, trade unions and religious bodies. Civic spaces also contain conservative groups, some of which actively seek to frustrate, if not eliminate, others in civil society they don’t like: think of Hindu nationalists or anti-abortion campaigners, for example.
