The Democratic Role, Function and Effect of Civil Society in Times of War: Learning from the Israeli Experience

Abstract

The concept of ‘civil society’ has attracted the interest of many wellknown political philosophers, among them Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, De Tocqueville, Hegel, Marx, and Gramssci. However, it seems that only since Cohen's and Arato's Civil Society and Political Theory (1992) has the academic debate truly focused on the civil society's role in the promotion of modern democratic regimes. This focus has resulted in a variety of theory and empirical data, yet the full nature of the relationship between democratic regime and civil society remains elusive. In the current study, the effect of civic engagement on democratic government and rule are examined through the example of Israeli state-civil society relationship during the Second Lebanon War. The findings suggest that civic engagement, although well-intentioned and law-abiding, may be publicly perceived as challenging to the government's ability to maintain order during crisis. The initial reaction of government functionaries to this challenge suggests a possible inclination towards greater regulation and government control of civil society—actions that may very well undercut the independence required for a truly vigorous civic scene.