Abstract
Although civil society in Bangladesh is recognized for its vibrant performance in social development, it is often criticized for its inability to ensure good governance and democracy. The aim of this paper is to point out the reasons for this failure of civil society. Through performing case studies upon five civil society organizations representing different sector and level of the civil society, the paper concludes that civil society organizations in Bangladesh are often politicized and co-opted by different political parties. In a typical scenario, civil society can provide a counterbalance or even monitor the state both at the national and local level. However, in Bangladesh, often the civil society organizations have compromised their autonomy and politicized themselves to certain political parties or political block. In such a vulnerable position, civil society can hardly play its expected role to ensure good governance and strengthen democracy.
Highlights
Bangladesh is often called a ‘development show-case’ where civil society organizations are found to be successful and active in micro-credit, empowerment and social development initiatives
With the help of individual case studies of five civil society organizations (CSOs) representing different sectors of the civil society, this paper argues that civil society in Bangladesh often compromises its ability to monitor the state and politics and become politicized
To verify the propositions about politicized civil society in Bangladesh, this paper systematically uses indepth observation, newspaper reports, documents provided by CSOs, information revealed through interviews and group discussions with CSO personnel, members and leaders of four CSOs in the district of Rajshahi, known as the centre of the North Zone of Bangladesh
Summary
Bangladesh is often called a ‘development show-case’ where civil society organizations are found to be successful and active in micro-credit, empowerment and social development initiatives. It begins with the hypothesis that most civil society organization (CSOs), both modern types such as development-oriented non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and conventional types such as professional groups, trade unions, and citizen’s groups, are politicized and coopted by the major political parties. Due to this co-optation, CSOs fail to function autonomously in their interactions with the state, whether in acts of cooperation or of negotiation. In most cases they become compelled to come to such situations just to survive, achieve their primary organizational objectives, or earn personal gains for their leaders
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