Civil Society, Democratisation and Foreign Aid in Africa

This paper summarises the findings of a comparative research project on the contribution of civil society organisations to democratisation in Africa. Drawing primarily on empirical case studies of civil society organisations in South Africa and Uganda, and related material from Ghana, the research examined their ability to influence government policy and legislation through tangible shifts in policy and legislative priorities and their implementation, and to widen the opportunities available to citizens to participate in public affairs, promoting a culture of accountability and challenging the power of the state to dominate decision-making. The research aimed to assess the impact of foreign aid on the political efficacy and internal governance of civil society organisations to determine the extent to which these attributes are shaped by external support.

According to the paper, a major finding from the research was that few civil society organisations have achieved significant policy impact, and that two of the three which have achieved impact are not dependent on donor funding. According to the paper, donor funding for civil society policy advocacy has not made a major impact on civil society policy engagement in the three countries. Analysis pointed to three critical ingredients in successful policy engagement by civil society organisations: strong organisational capacity, a high degree of perceived political legitimacy and access to government officials, and adequate financial resources, whether derived from internal or external sources.

The paper suggests that donors should review the range of civil society organisations that they support through democracy assistance programmes to ensure that groups in rural or urban low-income areas and those with a mass membership also receive adequate support. This approach would have the advantage of strengthening organisations that represent economically poorer groups and potentially increase the diversity of perspectives under a democratic system. It is further proposed that case studies demonstrate that key donor assumptions about the effect of supporting civil society organisations are flawed and that such funding often does not have the desired effect.

It is suggested that donors should support processes in which strong civil society organisations will emerge, rather than try to identify the most appropriate organisations that will contribute to democratic development. Donors could provide specialised assistance aimed at strengthening capacity for policy analysis and advocacy, especially for organisations lacking these skills. Donors can also help to create opportunities for structured policy dialogue with governments for a more representative set of membership-based organisations and grassroots coalitions as well as promote a more supportive policy environment for civil society organisations by encouraging governments to remove restrictive controls and simplify registration procedures. Such measures would contribute to increased organisational capacity with a
view to building political efficacy for a wider and more representative range of civil society organisations, with positive implications for strengthening democracy through autonomous civic action.