Civil society and

Social Movement
Concepts of
Civil Society
2
 What is a Civil Society?
▰ The United Nations (UN)
▻ define Civil society as the "third sector” of
society, along with government and business.
▻ It comprises civil society organizations and
non-governmental organizations.
▻ it advances the Organization's ideals, and
helps support its work.
3
 What is a Civil Society?
▰ The World Health Organization (WHO)
▻ claims that the Civil society is seen as a Social
sphere SEPARATED from both the state and the
market.
▻ WHO further reports that the increasingly accepted
understanding of the term civil society organizations
(CSOs) is that of non-state, not-for-profit, voluntary
organizations formed by people in that social sphere 4
 Civil Society Organizations
▰ The term is used to describe a broad range
of organizations, networks, associations,
groups and movements that are
independent of government and that
sometimes come together to advance their
common interests through collective
action. 5
 Non-governmental Organizations
(NGOs)
▰ non-profit making, non-violent organizations,
which seek to influence the policy of governments
and international organizations and to
complement government services (such as health
and education).
▰ They vary in their size, scope of activity and goals.
▰ They may operate nationally, or internationally. 6
NGOs in the Philippines

7
 Civil Society as a web of human
relationships

▰ made of individual people, their networks,

organizations, and in situations around which social and
community life is built.
▰ It is dynamic, adaptive, at times nebulous, at times well
structured, though much of it is informal.
▰ To Lederach, the only thing that is outside the
definition of civil society is the national and formal
structures of official political governance. 8
 Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)

▰ include NGOs,
▰ trade unions,
▰ faith-based organizations,
▰ indigenous peoples' movements,
▰ foundations and many other 9
 10

Picture of Civil Society

 Functions and Contributions of
Civil Organizations

These functions are: ▰ Social Cohesion

▰ Protection
▰ Intermediation and
▰ Monitoring
facilitation
▰ Advocacy and public
▰ Service delivery
communication
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 Civil Society (Krut, 1997)

▰ is crucial to democratization because it enables

and widens participation, protects citizens from
the abuse of state power, and guarantees the
political accountability of the state.
▰ Civil society is a protector and guardian,
change-advocate and dispenser and generator
of social wealth and welfare. 12
 Society

▰ prevents the state from abusing its powers and at the

same time prods it to do better by being accountable
and transparent (Putnam). Further, a vibrant civil society
leads to better government.
▰ For David (1997) civil society aims to transform unequal
power relations in six spheres: country and class;
sector and species; generation and gender. 13
 Civil Society

“Civil society provides social welfare such as

child care, adult literacy, health and other
services which the state is unable to provide
sufficiently; and organizing relief and
rehabilitation centers in disaster and war-torn
areas.” 14
 Concept of Social Movements

Social movements can be thought of as organized

yet informal social entities that are engaged in an
extra-institutional conflict that is oriented towards
a goal which can be concrete and narrow policy or
aimed at cultural change (EBSCO Research
Starters, 2009).
15
 Four Stages of Social Movements

1. Emergence
2. Coalescence
3. Bureaucratization
4. Decline 16
 Four Stages of Social Movements

One of the earliest scholars to study social

movement processes was Herbert Blumer,
who identified four stages of social
movements’ lifecycles. The four stages he
described were: “social ferment,” “popular
excitement,” “formalization,” and
“institutionalization”
17
 Four Stages of Social Movements

1. Emergence “Social ferment”- within this stage, social

movements are very preliminary, and there is a little to no
organization.
▻ Potential movement participants may be unhappy with
some policy or some social condition, but they have not
taken any action in order to redress their grievances, or if
they have it is most likely individual action rather than
collective action.
18
Ex. The early 1950's for the Civil Rights Movement.
 Emergence (summary)

▰ the tendency for social movements

to address a perceived social
problem
▰ occurs as people think all is not
well 19
 Four Stages of Social Movements

2. Coalescence “Popular stage,”- At this stage, social

movements have overcome obstacles which many never
overcome. It is characterized by a more clearly defined sense
of discontent, a Sense of what the unease is all about and who
or what is responsible.
▻ For example, people in a community may complain to
each other about a general injustice, but they do not
come together to act on those complaints and the social
20
movement does not progress to the next level.
 Coalescence (summary)

▰ Discontent is no longer uncoordinated and

individual; it tends to become “focalized and
collective”
▰ Also, at this stage mass demonstrations may
occur in order to display the social movement’s
power and to make clear demands.
▰ Defining itself and “going public” 21
 Four Stages of Social Movements

▰ 3. Bureaucratization “formalization,” - This stage is

characterized by higher levels of the organization and
coalition-based strategies. In this stage, social
movements can no longer just rely on mass rallies or
inspirational leaders; they must rely on trained staff to
carry out the functions of organizations.
▰ Ex. Gay rights movement (The gay rights movement
moved from agitation and demonstrations to having many
22
formal organizations )
 Bureaucratization (summary)

▰ Movement becomes established

▰ Organizing rationally to get job done
▰ tendency for a social movement to adopt
the characteristics of bureaucratic
organization to achieve its goals
23
 Four Stages of Social Movements

▰ Decline “institutionalization.”- it does not

necessarily mean failure of social movements as
Miller (1999) argues that there are four ways in
which social movements can decrease namely:
Success, organized failure, Co-optation, Repression
▰ The tendency of social movements to fade in power
and significance 24
 Repression

▰ Repression occurs when authorities, or agents acting on

behalf of the authorities, use measures (sometimes
violent) to control or destroy a social movement.
▰ This means that governments will often pass laws
outlawing specific movement activities or organizations,
or justify attacks on them by declaring them somehow
dangerous to public order. 25
 Co-optation

▰ Co-optation occurs when movement leaders come to

associate with authorities or movement targets more
than with the social movement constituents.
▰ For example, a leader could be asked to work for the
organization that is the target of a movement with
offers of being able to change things from the inside.
26
 Success

▰ Of course, not all social movements end in defeat through

repression or co-optation; some decline because they are
successful. Smaller, localized movements with very specific
goals often have a better chance at outright success.
▰ The March of Dimes originally formed in the late 1930s as a
movement to raise awareness of and work towards curing the
disease polio. Once a vaccine for polio was developed in the late
1950s though, the movement re-oriented to advocate toward the
more general goals of preventing birth defects, premature birth 27
and infant mortality.
 Failure

▰ Failure of social movements due to

organizational or strategic failings is common
for many organizations. When failure occurs at
the organizational level, Miller argues, it is
usually for two reasons: factionalism and
encapsulation.
28
Stages in the Lives of Social
Movements

29
Quiz
15-items
30
 Quiz

1-2. What are the 2 reasons behind the failure of social

movements according to Miller?
3. ________ is the term is used to describe a broad range of
organizations, networks, associations, groups and
movements that are independent of government.
4. ________ is a way of decline which occurs when
movement leaders come to associate with authorities or
movement targets more than with the social movement 31
 Quiz

5. ________ is the stage of social movement which is

characterized by higher levels of the organization and
coalition-based strategies.
6. ________ non-profit making, non-violent
organizations, which seek to influence the policy of
governments and international organizations and to
complement government services (such as health and
education). 32
 Quiz

7. _______ is a way of decline when authorities, or

agents acting on behalf of the authorities, use
measures (sometimes violent) to control or
destroy a social movement.
8. He was one of the earliest scholars to study
social movement processes who identified four
stages of social movements’ lifecycles. 33
 Quiz

9. ______ is the stage where social movements are

very preliminary, and there is a little to no
organization.
10-13. Enumerate the four stages of social
movements
34
 Quiz

14. ______ is the stage of social movements

in which discontent is no longer
uncoordinated and individual; it tends to
become “focalized and collective”.
15. _____ is way of decline in which the goals
of social movement were achieved. 35
36
Answers
37
 Quiz (answers)

1-2. Factionalism & 7. Repression

Encapsulation
8. Herbert Blumer
3. Civil Society
9. Emergence
4. Co-optation 10-13 Emergence,
5. Bureaucratization Coalescence,
“formalization” Bureaucratization & Decline
6. Non-governmental 14. Coalescence
Organization 15. Success
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THANKS!

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