Contextualizing Civic Engagement in Organizations and States

• In Event: Poster Session: Civic Engagement

Abstract

This paper argues for a more contextual perspective for studying civic engagement by and through civil society organizations (CSOs). Civic engagement is widely associated with social capitial and leads to positive normative outcomes from democracy. However, recent studies highlight the potential ‘dark sides’ of civic engagement, which may mobilize and reinforce various social divisions (Mani 2005). While the outcomes associated with civic engagement depend on context conditions, we highlight two major limitations of the existing literature.

First, much research focuses on the individual-level determinants and outcomes of civic engagement but lacks systematic attention to the role of organizations. The normative orientations of CSOs, as well as the network linkages between different CSOs are important factors shaping the political impact of civic engagement. Juxtaposing bridging and bonding social capital with inclusive and exclusive normative orientations of CSOs. we propose four ideal type modes of civic engagement- Pluralist, Populist, Particularist and Extremist. CSOs take strategic decisions in adopting these different modes depending on the time and context. We illustrate this point by comparing two religious’ organizations in Pakistan. We show how CSOs belonging to same religious denomination adopt different modes of civic engagement depending on the organizational aims and political environment.

Second, most studies of civic engagement are focused on the Global North and assume a liberal democratic public sphere. Meanwhile, our knowledge of civic engagement in different state and society contexts remains limited. The networks and norms of CSOs are strongly influenced by the wider context of the state, particularly the political regime and how the state shares (or excludes) the public sphere with civil society (e.g. Schofer / Fourcade 2001).

We illustrate this point comparing memberships in faith-based organizations (FBOs) in the US and Pakistan using Wave 7 of the World Values Survey (WVS). Our analysis reveals different normative outcomes associated with active membership in FBOs, even after controlling for individual-level factors such as gender, social class, and level of education. First, active FBO membership is associated with higher levels of generalized trust compared to non-members in the US, but not in Pakistan. Second, and most interestingly, FBO members are associated with greater levels of intolerance toward socially diverse groups in the United States, whereas active FBO memberships are less intolerant in Pakistan.

We argue that these differences in the normative orientations of FBO memberships likely reflect well-known contextual differences in state-society relationships. In particular, the US is liberal democratic political regime with a strong separation between church and state. In this context, the US has a high degree of diversity across religious denominations such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc. By contrast, Pakistan may be considered a hybrid democracy (e.g. the military retains a high degree of interventionist power) with a strongly institutionalized religion of Islam. Here roughly 98% of the population identify as Muslim.

One potential interpretation of the different role of FBOs relates to these differences in the political system, as well as the different boundaries between the state and religion. We argue that FBOs interact with the state ‘from the outside’ in the US, and often seem to be a focal point for mobilizing around differences between specific social identities ‘against’ other opposing identities within the wider sphere of democratic politics. Indeed, our data show that FBOs are more isolated from other types of CSOs in the US than in Pakistan. US FBOs are less overtly political in the sense of institutionalized participation via political parties or state agencies. However, political activism may focus on niche political agendas, such as anti-abortion or anti-woke agendas, that are focused on specific issues or identity politics. Meanwhile, the role of FBOs is framed in an almost opposite fashion in Pakistan. In particular, FBOs in Pakistan often have an overt political role as part of a wider religious nationalism. FBO membership incorporates people into the ‘inside’ of the state, and become a focus of mobilizing around shared religious national identity. Pakistani society is characterized by greater socio-economic inequality, political polarization, and higher levels of social intolerance compared to the US. However, against this background, FBOs seem to play a greater bridging role in connecting people within otherwise unfavorable conditions. Whereas FBOs in the US express some propensity toward the ‘dark side’ of civic engagement despite otherwise more favorable conditions.

The paper contributes to theories of civic engagement by highlighting the theoretical implications of studying context at the organizational-level and through cross-national comparison.

Authors

• Gregory Jackson, Freie Universität Berlin

• Sumrin Kalia, University College London