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Original Articles

Contesting civil society: Reflections from El Salvador

Pages 651-672 | Published online: 25 Aug 2010

References

  • Chambers , R . 1997 . 'Editorial: responsible well-being--a personal agenda for development' . Worm Development , 25 (11) : 1743 – 1754 . In a discussion of the changing vocabulary and language of development lexicon, Robert Chambers identifies 'civil society' as a term which has 'come close to the mainstream of much development discourse during the past two decades' (p 1744). He also includes it in his table on 'Development vocabulary' as a 'domain' or 'dimension' (p 1745)
  • UNDP . 1997 . Human Development Report , 115 New York : Oxford University Press . The UNDP and World Bank also include civil society in their recent development reports. For example, the UNDP views national and international civil society as 'major players' in the quest for eradicating poverty. See
  • World Bank . 1997 . World Development Report , 160 New York : Oxford University Press . In turn, the World Bank sees civil society as important in preventing anarchy and as major 'pillar' in the relationship between state and society
  • McIlwaine , C . 1998 . 'Civil society and development geography' . Progress in Human Geography , 22 (3) : 415 – 424 . The conceptual section of this paper draws on an earlier review of the literature
  • Pearce , J . 1997 . 'Civil society, the market and democracy in Latin America' . Democratization , 4 : 57 – 83 . The aphorism 'All things to all people' was first used by Pearce to describe the variations inherent in the term civil society
  • Cohen , J and Arato , A . 1992 . Civil Society and Political Theory , Cambridge , MA : Massachusetts Institute of Technology . For discussions on the history of the concept
  • Keane , J . 1988 . Democracy and Civil Society , London : Verso .
  • Tester , K . 1992 . Civil Society , London : Routledge .
  • Shils , E . 1991 . 'The virtue of civil society' . Government and Opposition , 26 : 3 – 20 . Edward Shils points out that the term was originally used in ancient jurisprudence, and had a 'fluctuating presence' in mediaeval political philosophy. While also used in the 17th century to describe 'a condition in which men (sic) lived under government', not until the 18th century did the term civil society evolve into one close to its current usage, largely through the work of Adam Ferguson. In the 19th century civil society was widely debated by Hegel, then Marx, as well as Gramsci, whose interpretations still colour discussions of the term today
  • Fine , R and Rai , S . 1997 . 'Understanding civil society: a preface' . Democratization , 4 : 1 – 6 .
  • Pearce, 'Civil society, the market and democracy in Latin America'.
  • Robinson , M . 1995 . 'strengthening civil society in Africa: the role of foreign political aid' . IDS Bulletin , 26 : 70 – 80 .
  • Blaney , D L and Pasha , M K . 1993 . 'Civil society and democracy in the Third World: ambiguities and historical possibilities' . Studies in Comparative International Development , 28 : 3 – 24 .
  • White , G . 1994 . 'Civil society, democratization and development (1) Clearing the analytical ground' . Democratization , 1 : 375 – 90 .
  • Pearce , J . “ 'Between co-option and irrelevance? Latin American NGOS in the 1990s' ” . In NGOS, States and Donors: Too Close For Comfort? , Edited by: Hulme , D and Edwards , M . Basingstoke : Macmillan . Pearce, 'Civil society, the market and democracy in Latin America'
  • 1997 . Children Fund , : 257 – 274 .
  • Ndegwa , S N . 1996 . The Two Faces of Civil Society: NGOs and Politics in Africa , West Hartford , CT : Kumarian Press .
  • White , G , Howell , J and Xiaoyuan , S . 1996 . In Search of Civil Society: Institutional Change in Contemporary China , Oxford : Oxford University Press .
  • Schwedler , J . 1995 . Toward Civil Society in the Middle East? A Primer , Boulder , CO : Lynne Rienner .
  • Haynes , J . 1996 . Democracy and Civil Society in the Third World: Politics and New Political Movements , Cambridge : Polity Press . who points out: 'The term "civil society" has crept quietly and largely unexamined into the literature on political economy in the Third World over the last decade' (p 16) See also Bebbington and Riddell who consider civil society 'a notoriously slippery concept' (p 108)
  • Bebbington , A and Riddell . 1997 . “ 'Heavy hands, hidden hands, holding hands? Donors, intermediary NGOS and civil society organisations' ” . In NGOS, States and Donors Edited by: Hulme and Edwards . 107 – 127 .
  • Hadenius , A and Uggla , F . 1996 . 'Making civil society work, promoting democratic development: what can states and donors do?' . Worm Development , 24 : 1621 – 1639 .
  • Haynes . Democracy and Civil Society in the Third World 16
  • Held , D . 1995 . Democracy and the Global Order , 181 Cambridge : Polity .
  • Diamond , L . 1994 . 'Toward democratic consolidation: rethinking civil society' . Journal of Democracy , 5 : 4 – 17 .
  • Foley , M W and Edwards , B . 1996 . 'The paradox of civil society' . Journal of Democracy , 7 : 38 – 52 . for discussions of these issues
  • UNDP . 1993 . Human Development Report 1993 , Oxford : Oxford University Press .
  • Macdonald , L . 1997 . Supporting Civil Society: The Political Role of Non-Governmental Organizations in Central America , Basingstoke : Macmillan . who define the activities of civil society in this broad manner
  • Hadenius and Uggla . “ 'Making civil society work' ” . 1621
  • Pearce, 'Civil society, the market and democracy in Latin America'.
  • Blair , H . “ Donors, democratisation and civil society: relating theory to practice' ” . In NGOs States and Donors Edited by: Hulme and Edwards . 23 – 42 .
  • Clark , J . “ 'The state, popular participation and the voluntary sector' ” . In NGOS, States and Donors Edited by: Edwards . 43 – 58 .
  • Lehmann , D . 1990 . Democracy and Development in Latin America , Cambridge : Polity Press . See Ndegwa, The Two Faces of Civil Society, on the African case; on Latin America
  • Fine , R . 1997 . 'Civil society theory, Enlightenment and critique' . Democratization , 4 : 7 – 28 . See also Foley & Edwards, 'The paradox of civil society'
  • The distinction between civil society as concept and as theory is made by both Pearce, 'Civil society, the market and democracy in Latin America' and Fine, 'Civil society theory, Enlightenment and critique'.
  • Munslow , B and Ekoko , F E . 1995 . 'Is democracy necessary for sustainable development?' . Democratization , 2 : 158 – 178 .
  • Whitehead , L . 1997 . '"Bowling in the Bronx": the uncivil interstices between civil and political society' . Democratization , 4 : 94 – 114 .
  • Foley , M W and Edwards , B . 1997 . 'Escape from politics? Social theory and the social capital debate' . American Behavioural Scientist , 40 : 550 – 561 .
  • Macdonald . Supporting Civil Society 16 – 20 .
  • Nzimande , B and Sikhosana , M . 1995 . “ 'Civil society: a theoretical survey and critique of some South African conceptions' ” . In Democracy, Civil Society and the State: Social Movements in Southern Africa , Edited by: Sachikonye , L M . 20 – 46 . Harare : SAPES Books .
  • Wilson , R . 1997 . The People's Conscience? Civil Groups, Peace and Justice in the South African and Guatemalan Transitions , London : Catholic Institute for International Relations . for discussions
  • Moore , M . 1993 . 'Good government? Introduction' . IDS Bulletin , 24 : 1 – 6 .
  • Simon , D . 1998 . 'Rethinking (post)modernism, postcolonialism and posttraditionalism: South-North perspectives' . Environment and Planning D: Society and Space , 16 : 219 – 245 . David Simon also makes the point that rolling back the state may provide greater opportunities for NGO and CBO initiatives by creating 'political and symbolic spaces' (pp 221-222)
  • World Bank . 1997 . Worm Development Report 1997 , Oxford : Oxford University Press . This idea is encompassed within the
  • Simon , D . 1995 . “ 'Debt, democracy and development' ” . In Structurally Adjusted Africa: Poverty, Debt and Basic Needs , Edited by: Simon , D . 17 – 44 . London : Pluto .
  • Volk , S . 1997 . '"Democracy" versus "democracy" ' . NACLA Report on the Americas , 30 : 6 – 12 .
  • Synergos Institute . 1996 . 'How government and multilateral donors can form large scale partnership with civil society organisations' . Institutional Society (Innovations in Civil Society) , 3 : 16 – 30 . IDB; Blair, 'Donors, democratisation and civil society: relating theory to practice', on USAID
  • Rodriguez , A and Winchester , L . 1996 . 'Cities, democracy and governance in Latin America' . International Social Science Journal , 48 : 73 – 83 . on decentralisation
  • Stahl , K . 1996 . 'Anti-poverty programs: making structural adjustment more palatable' . NACLA Report on the Americas , 29 : 32 – 36 . on social investment funds
  • Foley and Edwards . “ 'The paradox of civil society' ” . 39
  • Fowler , A . 1993 . 'Non-governmental organisations as agents of democratization: an African perspective' . Journal of International Development , 5 : 325 – 339 .
  • World Bank . Worm Development Report 1997 113
  • Edwards , M . 1995 . Non-governmental Organisations--Performance and Accountability: Beyond the Magic Bullet , Edited by: Hulme , D . London : Earthscan with Save the Children Fund . and Hulme & Edwards, NGOS, States and Donors
  • Gordenker , L and Weiss , T G . 1997 . 'Devolving responsibilities: a framework for analysing NGOs and services' . Third World Quarterly , 18 : 443 – 455 .
  • Howes , M . 1997 . 'NGOS and the development of local institutions: a Ugandan case-study' . Journal of Modern African Studies , 35 : 17 – 35 .
  • Uvin , P . 1995 . 'scaling up the grassroots and scaling down the summit: the relations between Third World nongovernmental organisations and the United Nations' . Third Worm Quarterly , 16 : 495 – 512 . for discussions
  • Bratton , M . 1990 . 'Non-governmental organisations in Africa: can they influence public policy?' . Development and Change , 21 : 87 – 118 .
  • Smillie , I . 1997 . 'NGOs and development assistance: a change in mind-set?' . Third Worm Quarterly , 18 : 563 – 577 . for discussions
  • Alexander , J . 1997 . 'The local state in post-war Mozambique: political practice and ideas about authority' . Africa , 7 : 1 – 26 . on Mozambique
  • Oloka-Onyango , J and Barya , J J . 1997 . 'Civil society and the political economy of foreign aid in Uganda' . Democratization , 7 : 113 – 138 . on Uganda
  • Pereira , A . 1993 . 'Economic underdevelopment, democracy and civil society: the North-East Brazil Case' . Third Worm Quarterly , 14 : 365 – 380 . on Brazil
  • Amirahmadi , H and Gladstone , D . 1996 . 'Towards a dynamic theory of the state and civil society in the development process' . Journal of Planning, Education and Research , 16 : 15 – 25 .
  • and Hadenius & Uggla, 'Making civil society work'.
  • Boagang , He . 1997 . The Democratic Implications of Civil Society in China , Basingstoke : Macmillan .
  • Munslow & Ekoko, 'Is democracy necessary for sustainable development?'.
  • This point is made by Edwards & Hulme, 'Too close for comfort?'
  • Sen , G . 1996 . 'Gender, markets and states: a selective review and research agenda' . World Development , 24 : 821 – 829 . on the importance of gender
  • Pearce . “ 'Between co-option and irrelevance? Latin American NGOS in the 1990s' ” . 72 For example, civil society is often referred to as 'a space which reflects the social divisions of society as a whole'
  • Von Doepp , P . 1996 . 'Political transition and civil society: the cases of Kenya and Zambia' . Studies in Comparative International Development , 31 : 24 – 47 . Or it is seen as 'a potential location of power outside the state'. See
  • Lipschutz , R . 1992 . 'Reconstructing world politics: the emergence of global civil society' . Millenium: Journal of International Studies , 21 : 389 – 421 .
  • Pasha , M P . 1996 . 'Globalisation and poverty in South Asia' . Millenium: Journal of International Studies , 25 : 635 – 656 . for a discussion of the concept
  • Schearer , S B . 1996 . 'The emerging role of civil society in international development challenges to foreign aid programs' . Institutional Society (Innovations in Civil Society) , 3 : 12 – 27 . Many civil society groups, and particularly NGOs, have embraced the discourses surrounding the term 'global civil society' and organised themselves in a range of alliances. See for example on CIVICUS, the World Alliance for Citizen Participation
  • Oloka-Onyango and Barya . “ 'Civil society and the political economy of foreign aid in Uganda' ” . 115 criticise the wholesale import of the notion of civil society on the grounds that it is 'suspiciously like other alien imports of convoluted pedigree and questionable validity'
  • Putnam , R D . 1995 . 'Bowling alone: America's declining social capital' . Journal of Democracy , 6 : 65 – 78 . These ideas are strongly influenced by the work of
  • Coleman , J . 1990 . Foundations of Social Theory , Cambridge , MA : Belknap .
  • Wilson , P . 1997 . 'Building social capital: a learning agenda for the twenty-first century' . Urban Studies , 34 (5-6) : 745 – 760 .
  • Foley and Edwards . “ 'Escape from politics?' ” . 550
  • Bebbington , A . 1997 . 'social capital and rural intensification: local organistions and islands of sustainability in the rural Andes' . The Geographical Journal , 163 : 189 – 197 . on the role of social capital in building-up civil society in the context of the rural Andes
  • Morris , M . 1998 . Social Capital and Poverty in India , IDS Working Paper 61 Brighton : Institute of Development Studies .
  • Pearce . “ 'Civil society, the market and democracy in Latin America' ” . 59 – 69 . Pearce points out that civil society first received considerable attention in the mid 1980s among Latin American scholars at the same time as it enjoyed a revival in Eastern Europe; while academic interest subsided in the early 1990s, it was replaced by the embrace of the concept by the international development agencies, and in particular, the Inter-American Development Bank. By the mid-1990s, civil society was firmly on both donor, as well as academic and NGO agendas
  • Foley , M W . 1996 . 'Laying the groundwork: the struggle for civil society in El Salvador' . Journal of Interamerican Studies and Worm Affairs , 38 (1) : 67 – 104 .
  • O'Brien , D and Catenacci , L . 1997 . 'Towards a framework for local democracy in a war-torn society: the lessons of selected foreign assistance programmes in El Salvador'' . Democratization , 3 (4) : 435 – 458 . Ibid, and
  • Lungo , M . 1996 . Ucles, El Salvador in the Eighties: Counterinsurgency and Revolution , Philadelphia , PA : Temple University Press . For an excellent account of this period
  • Brockett , C D . 'El Salvador: the long journey from violence to reconciliation' . Latin American Research Review , 29 (3) 174 – 187 . For a review of the literature
  • Dunkerley , J . 1994 . The Pacification of Central America , London : Verso . for an excellent discussion of the political developments in this period
  • Pearce , J . 1998 . 'From civil war to "civil society": has the end of the Cold War brought peace to Central America?' . International Affairs , 74 (3) : 587 – 615 .
  • Sollis , P . 1992 . 'Displaced persons and human rights: the crisis in El Salvador' . Bulletin of Latin American Research , 11 (1) : 49 – 67 .
  • Crosby , B L . 1997 . Democracy Sector Assessment: El Salvador , Washington, DC : Management Systems International/Office of Democratic Initiatives, USAID . Examples of business-orientated groups included the Camara de Comercio, or the Asociacion Salvadorena de Industriales (ASI). In the agricultural and labour sectors, coalitions of civil society organisations flourished such as the Bloque Popular Revolucionario, and the Union Comunal Salvadoreno
  • Murray , K and Barry , T . 1995 . Inside El Salvador , 169 London : Latin America Bureau . M Lungo Uclos, cited in
  • Stephen , L . 1995 . 'Women's rights are human rights: the merging of feminine and feminist interests among El Salvador's mothers of the disappeared (CO-MADRES)' . American Ethnologist , 22 (4) : 807 – 827 . One of the most well documented examples of a human rights organisation is that of CO-MADRES (Committee of Mothers and Relatives of Political Prisoners, Disappeared and Assassinated of El Salvador 'Monsenor Romero') discussed by
  • Pearce , J . 1986 . Promised Land: Peasant Rebellion in Chalatenango, El Salvador , London : Latin America Bureau .
  • Sinclair , M , ed. 1995 . The New Politics of Survival: Grassroots Movements in Central America , New York : Monthly Review Press . on the variety of organisations which proliferated during this period
  • Uclos , Lungo . El Salvador in the Eighties 156
  • Sinclair . The New Politics of Survival 11
  • Murray and Barry . Inside El Salvador 153
  • Foley . “ 'Laying the Groundwork' ” . 74 – 75 .
  • Pearce . “ 'From civil war to "civil society" ' ” . 597 – 599 .
  • O'Brien and Catenacci . “ 'Local democracy in a war-torn society' ” . 439
  • FORTAS itself is made-up of 40 small foundations. See Foley, 'Laying the groundwork', for a detailed discussion of FUSADES.
  • Sollis , P . 1993 . Reluctant Reforms: The Cristiani Government and the International Community in the Process of the Salvadoran Post-War Reconstruction , Washington, DC : Washington Office on Latin America . for a detailed discussion of the role of NC, OS within the reconstruction phase. Pearce, 'From civil war to "civil society"' (p 601) also discusses the tensions inherent in the pursuit of peace at the same time as following structural adjustment policies. See both Pearce and Sollis on similar difficulties found elsewhere in Central America; and
  • Sollis , P . 1995 . 'Panners in development? The state, nongovernmental organisations and the UN in Central America' . Third Worm Quarterly , 16 (3) : 525 – 542 .
  • Vakil , A C . 1997 . 'Confronting the classification problem: toward a taxonomy of NGOS' . Worm Development , 25 (12) : 2057 – 2070 . The formulation of typologies has been explored in depth elsewhere. For a recent attempt see
  • Desai , V and Preston , I . 1997 . A Typology of Urban Grassroots NGOS: The Case of Bombay , CEDAR Research Paper, No 21 Egham , Surrey : Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London . In the context of Bombay, India, Desai and Preston discuss a typology based on 4 'clusters' which group NGOS according to: small-service delivery, large-service delivery, officially funded service delivery and policy advocacy
  • Enriquez , A . 1997 . 'Desarrollo y ONGS en El Salvador: retos y perspectivas,' . Alternativas para el Desarrollo , 44 : 1 – 11 . This point is made by; It was also mentioned in a number of the interviews conducted
  • Macias , R Cordova . 1997 . “ 'Analysis of the enabling framework for civil society' ” . San Salvador : USAID . In a UNDP study of 186 NGOS in 1992, 146 organisations were based in San Salvador, with 85 in nearby La Libertad
  • PRISMA . 1997 . 'Hacia una estrategia ambiental para la Region Metropolitana de San Salvador' . RISMA Boletin , 22 : 2 – 3 . The San Salvador Metropolitan Area has grown territorially by 64 since 1980, with deleterious social, economic and environmental consequences in terms of employment, basic urban services and water supply
  • Boyce , J K . 1995 . 'Adjustment towards peace: an introduction' . World Development , 23 (12) : 2067 – 2077 .
  • Uclos , M Lungo . 1997 . 'Centroamerica: migracion internacional y politicas migratorias' . Alternativas para el Desarrollo , 47 : 13 – 19 . It has also been estimated that all Salvadoreans have at least one family member living in the United States, and that remittances represent 47 of their income
  • Wood , E and Segovia , A . 1995 . 'Macroeconomic policy and the Salvadoran Peace Accords' . World Development , 23 (12) : 2079 – 2099 .
  • Ucles , M Lungo , Eekhof , K and Baires , S . 1997 . Migracion Internacional y Desarrollo Local en El Salvador, Avances 8 , San Salvador : FUNDE .
  • Crosby . Democracy Sector Assessment 5 – 6 . In the context of an estimated 8000 murders every year, it is hardly surprising that in a national survey carried out in June/July 1996, 79 of the respondents identified crime as the number one problem. In turn, this was related to the deteriorating economic situation and widespread unemployment
  • Pearce . “ 'From civil war to "civil society"' ” . 580
  • Carr , M . 1994 . 'El Salvador: two cheers for democracy?' . Race and Class , 36 (1) : 1 – 22 . In rural areas, President Calderon Sol has developed the Plan Guardian at the behest of landowners, involving joint patrols of the police and army. However, this has met with resistance from the Left on the grounds that it violates the Peace Accords and serves as an excuse to reverse demilitarisation efforts
  • Cordova Mac/as . “ 'Analysis of the enabling framework for civil society' ” . 10 – 15 .
  • Foley . “ 'Laying the groundwork' ” . 80 – 81 .
  • Castillo , L . 1995 . 'Editorial' . Autogestion (Boletin Informativo de la Fundacion Salvadorena de Apoyo Integral--(FUSAI) , 11 : 1 – 3 .
  • de Hernandez , A M . 'Proceso de debate y creacion de la Icy que regula el trabajo de las ONGS en El Salvador' . Pobreza Urbana y Desarrollo , 7 (14) 24 – 31 . Interview with Luis Castillo, director of FUSAI, July 1997. See also
  • Mitchell , T . 1995 . “ 'The object of development: America's Egypt' ” . In Power of Development , Edited by: Crush , J . 129 – 157 . London : Routledge . Timothy Mitchell makes similar observations about the role of USAID in Egypt. He notes that a major goal of USAID is to develop the private sector, although in reality the effect of these programmes is to strengthen the power of the state
  • Escobar , A . 1995 . Encountering Development: The Making and Unmaking of the Third World , Princeton , NJ : Princeton University Press .
  • Foley . “ 'Laying the groundwork' ” . 79 This was reinforced through a visit to one of FORTAS'S foundations, Fundacion Coatepeque, in July 1997 with the director, Jose Mario Vasquez. In an interview with a community group receiving assistance from the foundation, it emerged that, while the projects themselves were technically sound, a top-down approach to organising was employed; little attempt was made by the foundation at promoting active and sustained participation on the part of the community. Indeed, this was in stark contrast to the activities of other NGOS such as FUNDAMUNI and FUSAI
  • Sollis , P . 1993 . 'Poverty alleviation in El Salvador: an appraisal of the Cristiani government's social pro gramme' . Journal of International Development , 5 (5) : 437 – 458 . for a detailed discussion of the VIS
  • FISDL . 1997 . Plan de Accion de la Nueva Forma de Trabajo del FISDL de El Salvador , San Salvador : FISDL . Interviews were also conducted with all the divisional heads of FISDL in July 1997
  • Simon, 'Rethinking (post)modernism, postcolonialism, and posttraditionalism.'. See also Pearce, 'From civil war to "civil society"'.

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