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🗳️ap comparative government review
3.1 Civil Society
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This topic will discuss the importance of groups/organizations that are not directly related to the government, but that hold an importance space in the political spheres across the world. 🌏 In democratic states, people grant power to politicians and the government by voting on candidates that they believe will accurately represent their interests. But, this is not the full extent of the political power that people hold. In Democratic states there are other ways for people to express their opinions and demand actions from the government (or even take action themselves), and this is why we will learn about civil society.
We start with the knowledge you need to demonstrate at the end of this topic:
- Define the term civil society.
- Describe civil society.
- Explain the role of civil society in each of the course countries.
Key Terms 🔎
Civil Society is considered the “third sector” of society that encompasses the collective actions of citizens in voluntary groups (like NGOs or Charities) outside the government and for-profit businesses.
- Made up of shared interests, purposes, and values.
- Helps individuals define and advance their own interests. Where do you think civil societies are strongest? That's right, liberal, or established democracies because there is a value placed on individual freedoms.
You may be asking yourself: “Why are political scientists interested in civil society if it is separate from government?”
When exploring Civil Society, it helps to define the people’s relationship to and role in politics and the larger community. More importantly, civil society can act as a check on the state’s power!
An example from the United States will make this more clear. In the U.S., we have Interest Groups. Such an interest group is the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons), a powerful group of elderly people in the United States, with 38 million members that forward common interests, like protecting social security. This group checks the government’s power in the United States because 38 million voters could easily sway national elections if, let’s say, the government eliminated social security!
Examples of Civil Society
- Religious Organizations 🙏 — Local churches or national/international religious organizations such as the Catholic Church or Churches Network for Non-Violence.
- Neighborhood Organizations 🏘 — Different types of organizations formed based on clusters of "where people live".
- Example: neighborhood watches focused on safety, community charities or outreaches, etc.
- News Media 🗞 — A civil society organization that many are familiar with. Media can take the form of newspapers, TV news, internet or cable news, radio news.
- Business and Professional Associations 👩💼 — Organizations that professionals join to forward interests.
- Example: The American Botanical Council, which is an international organization that promotes the responsible use of herbal medicine, or the American Institute of Floral Designers, a non-profit that supports excellence in the floral industry.
- Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) 💡— Organizations, both national and international, that pursue policy objectives and foster public participation.
- Examples include the Red Cross, Oxfam, or Wikimedia Foundation.
To describe civil society and the various forms it takes, there is one more thing you must do: Be able to identify how regime type impacts the variety and strength of civil society.
In general, Democratic Regimes tend to allow a far more robust civil society than Authoritarian Regimes that often attempt to prevent challenges to authority and power. The course asks that you are able to do more than generalize about civil society in democratic and authoritarian regimes. It asks you to specifically discuss the role of civil society in each of the course countries (UK, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, China, and Iran). The chart below easily captures this information:
Civil Society in Each Country
| Country | Examples of Civil Society | Development | Supports/Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK (Full or Advanced Democracy) | Church of England (Religious Organization), National Union of Teachers (Professional Association/Union), Bullying UK (NGO), BBC (Media) | Well Established: Interest groups, religious organizations, NGOs, and professional associations are very active and influential in UK society and policymaking. | The government supports and protects civil society. Civil society is deeply ingrained in UK culture, as in most advanced democracies like the US. |
| Mexico (Flawed Democracy / Transitioning) | NGOs are numerous and expanding since 2000. Examples: Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez Centre for Human Rights, Human Rights Centre "Fray Bartolomé de las Casas" | Developed: Despite decades of one-party dominance, Mexico has a lively and engaged civil society. | Before 2000, the PRI divided interest groups into labor, peasants, and middle class, all dominated by state-controlled organizations. Since PAN's win in 2000, NGOs have grown, especially in human rights due to violence and weak government protection. |
| Nigeria (Flawed Democracy / Transitioning) | MOSOP (Ogoni People), focused on oil rights and environmental justice; Action Aid (NGO), helping unemployed | Underdeveloped historically; Emerging since independence. Many formal and informal groups seek to influence politics. | Civil society has been limited by military rule and colonial legacies. Since 1999, civil society has grown, but a proposed NGO regulation bill and public mistrust of NGOs (seen as corrupt) create ongoing challenges. |
| Russia (Authoritarian Regime) | Russian Orthodox Church, Nashi (youth NGO, state-organized) | Underdeveloped: Most Russians don’t belong to civil society groups. Emerging: Since the USSR's fall in 1991, more civil society organizations have formed. | Heavily restricted. Groups must register, face police harassment, and laws restrict foreign funding and expand treason definitions to include work with foreign orgs. |
| China (Authoritarian Regime) | Red Cross of China (NGO), Jane Goodall Charities (wildlife), Habitat for Humanity (housing) | Underdeveloped before 1980s. Emerging: Since opening to foreign investment and relaxing party control, many private charity orgs have formed. Growth since the 1990s. | Government tightly controls NGOs, especially religious ones. Controls media and internet. Falun Gong crackdown (1999–2001) is a key example. |
| Iran (Authoritarian Regime) | Charity Foundation for Special Diseases, Iranian Society of Environmentalists, Institute for Inter-religious Dialogue | Extremely Limited: Under Shahs, civil society was nearly nonexistent. Some expansion during Khatami’s “Tehran Spring,” but reversed under Ahmadinejad. | The government limits civil society with arrests, censorship, and restrictions on speech and protest. However, Iran’s large youth population remains active, often drawn to Western culture, keeping civil society alive despite repression. |
Limitations of Civil Society
Even though civil society organizations are often not related to politics, they lead towards Democratizatio in their countries. Mexico and Nigeria are excellent examples of this. In the late 20th century and early 21st century, both of these nations have moved from authoritarian regimes to democratic regimes, and the role of civil society is a big part of this development. For instance, in Mexico in 2014, drug cartels murdered 43 students. NGOs banded together and pressured the President into [constitutional reform to tackle corruption and pressure the government to deal with these pressing issues.
Iranian 🇮🇷 Civil Society
The limitations placed on civil society by governments tend to highlight violations of civil liberties protected under foundational documents. Iran 🇮🇷 highlights this tendency. In the Iranian Constitution, individuals are guaranteed the following provisions:
- Article 23: Investigation into one’s ideas is forbidden. No one can be subjected to questioning and aggression for merely holding an opinion.
- Article 24: Publications and the press are free to discuss issues unless such is deemed harmful to the principles of Islam or the rights of the public. The law shall determine the details of this exception.
- Article 26: The political parties, associations and trade unions, Islamic associations, or associations of the recognized religious minorities are free to exist on the condition that they do not negate the principles of independence, freedom, national unity, Islamic criterion, and the foundation of the Islamic Republic. No one can be prevented from participation in these gatherings or forced to participate in one of them.
However, the Iranian government has dismantled the media at times (especially newspapers), and media that is allowed is owned and controlled by the government (radio and tv). Activists upset by the loss of liberal candidates in the 2009 elections were targeted by the government after many protested the election results. In 2011, a human-rights lawyer name Nasrin Sutoodeh, was jailed for 11 years for criticizing President Ahmadinejad’s policies. This is in stark contrast to Mexico, as discussed previously.
💡Stay updated - Here are some important news that you can even mention in your AP Exam!
- In 2021-2022 a wave of Protests that oppose the imposition of the Islamic law swept over Iran. These protests escalated after the death of a Iraninan-Jurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, who died in custody after not complying to the country's strict dress codes for women. To instill public fear - and consequently weaken civil society - the Iranian government has executed people that were linked to the protests, causing a great International commotion and calls for human rights abuses.
- Under the government of AMLO (Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador) in Mexico 🇲🇽 the movements against femicide, which use the motto Ni Una Menos (not one less), have taken the spotlight. The country has the highest rate of femicide in latin America, and the government's negligence sparked calls for action from the Mexican civil society. You can read more about it here.
Civil society will be an important concept throughout the rest of the Unit, so make sure you understand the different degrees of civil society in all the six course countries! Now, we will move our discussion to Political Culture ➡️