Sameh Fawzi* wonders just how civil is civil society The concept of civil society is new in the Arab world. It wasn't until the 20th century that civil organisations such as political parties, charitable societies and social clubs came into being. Before that Arab society was controlled by the heavy-handed state and an intrusive clan system. Indeed, the state itself was sometimes taken over by clans, as one can still see in Gulf countries. The man who more than anyone promoted the idea of civil society is Abdallah El-Nadim (1845-1896). He argued that community should be a catalyst for change, propagating his ideas in Egypt and other parts of the Arab world via his magazine Al-Ustaz. Then, in the early 20th century, Egyptian students who studied abroad became active in creating non-profit organisations. While the first non-governmental societies in Egypt were foreign organisations such as the Greek Society, they were soon followed by local groups such as the Coptic Accord Society and the Islamic Charitable Association. Existing non-governmental organisations in the Arab world can be divided into three generations. The first was service-oriented, the second development- and the third rights-oriented. Arab governments have mixed feelings about such organisations. While governments acknowledge the usefulness of civil society associations they remain suspicious of their role, especially when they attract foreign funding. Still, the need for such organisations cannot be overemphasised in Arab countries, where the rate of population growth, currently at 2.4 annually, is among the world's highest. Population growth has been accompanied by migration to urban centres and the resulting pressure on services -- such as health, water and garbage disposal -- is enormous. With unemployment running at 20 per cent in most of the Arab world, the role of NGOs in alleviating poverty is crucial. Yet governments are wary of the role played by NGOs, especially third generation rights-oriented ones, which face many restrictions. Governments often retain the right to reorganise or disband civil society organisations and discourage NGOs from engaging in political activity. In Egypt, Law 84/2003 places constraints on NGO funding. The societies law, issued in Tunisia on 2 April 1992, severely curtailed the independence of NGOs, turning them into semi- governmental structures. In Algeria multiple restrictions were placed on the formation, funding and public activities of NGOs during the 1990s while Libya, Syria and Saudi Arabia effectively ban civil society organisations, as did Iraq until recently. The only country that doesn't impose any restrictions on NGOs is Lebanon, where notification to the authorities is all that is needed. Aside from these restrictions, NGOs suffer from internal organisational problems, though most researchers prefer to highlight government failings, pointing out that political despotism and the dominance of conventional social bonds have stunted individual freedoms in the Arab world. In the past two decades many Arab researchers, following in the footsteps of Alexis de Tocqueville, have argued that civil society is essential to democracy, offering a way out of despotism and clan control. Many Arab researchers have adopted a messianic tone in advocating civil society, ignoring the practical problems in the way of its development. An outspoken group of researchers has lately begun to take a closer look, uncovering evidence that NGOs can develop their own forms of corruption and lack of transparency. Often NGOs suffer from centralisation of decision-making, lack of initiative and trust, and the absence of real participation by rank and file members. Among the problems facing civil society is an absence of a volunteer culture. The number of volunteers interested in the activities of NGOs is small. Even where adequate numbers of volunteers exist NGOs often lack the administrative capability to train them and benefit from their work. As things stand, most organisations aspire to use the skills of the volunteers without taking their wishes, motivations and aspirations into account. There is, too, an absence of trained personnel. NGO employees tend to move among various organisations in search of better salaries and organisations that succeed in getting foreign funding usually manage to attract the best talent in the market. And while non-governmental work is supposed to involve freedom and exchange of opinion, NGOs often operate in a bureaucratic manner. Initiative is discouraged and work performed in a routine manner. Western concepts are often applied in an outmoded way. Many NGOs, motivated by foreign funding, have embraced the concept of good governance. They have women on their board of directors, adopt certain ethical and professional standards, and work on their transparency. But these changes are introduced in a perfunctory manner and have little if any impact on the course of actual work. In some cases, members of the same family take control of entire NGOs. This is true even in third generation organisations. Although one can argue that members of the same family may share a certain philanthropic streak the phenomenon is too often associated with personal gain. Over-dependence on foreign funding also constitutes a problem. Although foreign funding is beneficial it can endanger the sustainability of programmes and discourage NGOs from looking for local funding. Foreign funding also leads to counter-productive competition among NGOs working in the same field, an example of weak coordination between NGOs that hampers their work. In order for NGOs to promote democracy and pluralism they have to embrace certain values. Accountability is essential, especially for human rights groups. Such organisations should act as a role model for the government and society at large. There is no point in having a corrupt NGO monitoring corruption. NGOs should also issue periodic reports about their activities. They need to keep the public informed of their activities through publications and websites. They should publish their budgets, naming the donors and stating the salaries of their workers. It is, too, usually a good idea for each NGO to hold a weekly meeting to allow members to discuss various aspects of the work in full freedom. A code of ethics is also needed. There are things that are easy to detect, such as theft and embezzlement. But there are other forms of corruption that may be harder to gauge, such as the abuse of resources, as when NGO facilities are used for personal purposes. Democratic methods can improve the quality and climate of work in NGOs. Decisions must be taken through consultations within the NGO and dialogue with the beneficiaries. Interaction within the organisation should involve more than periodic meetings. It should be a continual process that provides employees with a sense of purpose and belonging. A sense of empowerment needs to prevail inside the NGO. This sense can be promoted through training and workshops, through access to the media and continual education. NGOs should allow their employees the chance to pursue further academic studies if they wish and employees should have a positive self-image, something that can be achieved through full participation in the creative side of the organisation's work. * The writer is a political commentator.
