Schools of Citizenship: How Scale, Autonomy, and Context Shape the Functions of Civil Society

• In Event: 2180 - Section on Sociology of Development Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 01. Cities

Abstract

Classic arguments for civil society credit it with socializing participants into democratic habits of the heart as well as resisting authoritarianism by democratizing from below. However, both the social capital building function of civil society and its capacity for resisting the state are contingent on political context and the degree of autonomy from the regime which civil society organizations enjoy. To what extent then can civil society organizations build democratic social capital if they exist in a regime where freedoms of associations and expression are heavily constrained? What is the nature of the socialization that takes place when there is varying degrees of autonomy from an undemocratic state, and how is it influenced by the specific mechanisms of that socialization? This paper bridges literatures on civil society and the state in democratic and undemocratic settings by bringing political context into the theorization of civil society and its effects.

Autonomy and scale are negatively correlated across the landscape of civil society in Singapore. Autonomy is an essential ingredient for producing the paradigmatic qualities of civil society, but the free space essential to autonomy is scarce in Singapore. Without autonomy, participatory processes may look like civil society, but lack its effects. Coming to an accommodation with the state is part of the path to institutionalization, but brings constraints as well as resources and influence. Singapore’s example speaks to the varying functions of civil society in non-democratic regimes and the extent to which its classic characteristics can still obtain.

Author

• Ijlal H. Naqvi, Singapore Management University