Government-Ngo Relationships in Africa, Asia, Europe and Mena by Raffaele Marchetti

Author:Raffaele Marchetti [Marchetti, Raffaele]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, General, NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations), Comparative Politics, American Government, Public Policy, Social Science
ISBN: 9781351117487
Google: gptYDwAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 40002371
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2018-04-27T00:00:00+00:00

Extreme Competition

The government’s project of Hindutva, as well as its close alliance with corporatations is not without contest from large sections of progressive and secular CSOs. The government however has tried to systematically clampdown on the ‘dissenters’, using a spate of measures. On one hand it has resorted to harassment, intimidation and public vilification of activists and CSOs by branding them as ‘anti-national’, ‘agents of foreign governments’, ‘opposed to economic development of the country’. More pervasive and less in the public eye are the arbitrary administrative and bureaucratic measures that the government has resorted to that include freezing of bank accounts, placing activities of CSOs under ‘watch lists’, restricting or stopping international donations and aid, revoking licenses on the grounds of alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), a law regulating foreign donation. A number of CSOs and their funding partners have been targeted by the government, which include Greenpeace India, Sabrang Trust and their funding partner the Ford Foundation, People’s Watch, HIVOS, amongst others.

Thus a deeply polarised scenario is emerging in India, where extreme Hindu CSOs are being ‘allowed’ and setting the agenda for/in collaboration with the government. On the other hand, CSOs that differ or dissent from the government right-wing political and economic agenda are being ‘disallowed’. Notably the appeal of civil society lies precisely because of its role in safeguarding democracy against totalitarian tendencies. However, if sections of civil society begin to collaborate with government to damage democracy, it raises problematic questions of how we define the ‘civil’. Civil society thereby cannot be politically unspecific. Rather the need is to evaluate CSOs by their ideological concerns – i.e., by the role in expanding the democratic space, and in competing against the threats to democracy.

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