Lecture 13 Flashcards
What is civil society?
Civil society is non-governmental organizations and institutions that share purposes, values, and interest groups
How do we recognise civil society/ What is self organizing society
- Separate from the state
- Wide variety of groups
- Interact with politics but does not seek to replace (power)
Also separate form
- profit- making (market)
- private ( family)
Where is civil society?/ where is it in relation to everything else?
It is part of the so called “third sector”
Not part of the public sector, not part of the private sector
When did civil society emerged?
In the 18th century, became prominent in the 1970- 1980
Fight for freedom and democracy in latin America and East Europe
Build its reputation on overthrowing communist regimes
The power of angry people
Protest and movements, when people feel like they cannot be represented by official channels
Examples:
- Arab spring
- Black lives matter
- Hong Kong protest
- Occupy Wall Street
The power of regular people
Organizations which represent people and their ideas, values or activities
Can go by many names:
- Non- profit
- Interest Group
- Voluntary
- Charity
- Activists
3 approaches of civil society
- Pluralist
- Governance
- Normative
What is NGO
A type of actor in civil society
( Non- Governmental Organisation)
Mostly defined but what they are not
The meaning of NGO
N = Non-Governmental
G= Independent from government
O= have an organisational structure
Types of Interest groups
- Insider
Winning support trough lobbying and personal contact - Outsider
Winning over public opinion through campaigning, the media
Examples:
- welfare groups
- religious groups
- single interest groups
- agricultural organisations
- trade unions
The power of the press
- Essential element of Democracy
- Media structures people perception of politics
- Watchdog of democracy
New ways to consume media
- Access to internet and mobile phones
- Transformed ability of ordinary citizens to access news
- Organize when confronted with repression
Advantages/ Accomplices of Media
- cheap and easy way for politicians to get their message across
- direct communication with individual voters and targeted messages
Adversaries/ Disadvantages Media
- Individuals can now report breaking news quicker than news agencies
- can publish alternative versions of events
- non-journalists can publish comments in blogs and comment-sections
Post truth societies
Fake news, alternative facts and post- truth
- facts become relative
- what contradicts emotion is fake
- shape public opinion
