The Alternative Genealogy of Civil Society and Its Implications for Africa: Notes for Further Research

Abstract

Despite its ubiquity in popular and academic discourses, consensus about the epistemological status of the idea of civil society remains elusive. In Africa, the literature is circumscribed by doubts about, first, its applicability; and second, the usefulness of civil society in explicating social processes on the continent. This has generated a conflictive, yet deeply illuminating, scholarship. The paper makes a modest contribution to the debate, first, by mapping the main contours of the existing intellectual divide, and second, critically complicating it by suggesting the emergence of an 'alternative genealogy' that seemingly renders the debate itself redundant. The 'alternative genealogy' seems to have emerged, partly out of the desire to respond to misgivings about the possibility of civil society in Africa, and partly to provide a description of civil society which, while not totally divorced from its original meaning(s), nevertheless strikes out in fresh directions, taking into cognisance the radical ways in which the notion of civil society is being used across non-Western societies in general. The paper concludes with an examination of the implications of this re-imagining of civil society for both theoretical analysis and practical engagement. ResumeMalgre son omnipresence dans les discours populaires et academiques, il n'y a toujours pas de consensus bien defini autour du statut epistemologique de la notion de societe civile. En Afrique, la litterature est circonscrite par des doutes relatifs a 1'applicability de cette idee, et a l'utilite de la societe civile en matiere d'explication des processus sociaux en cours au niveau du continent. Ceci a genere un debat academique a la fois conflictuel et assez eclairant. Cette

Democratic Governance and Actors’ Conceptualization of “Civil Society” in Africa: State–Civil Society Relations in Ghana from 1982–2000

“…Hyden (2006) asserts that the African state lacks a public sphere due to its failure to develop an indigenous or national bourgeoisie, a prerequisite for the development of civil society in Western societies. Of course, some scholars have argued that the idea of civil society is not foreign to the continent at all (Obadare 2004). To the extent that these debates are relevant to this article, it is that many African leaders tend to think that civil society organizations are influenced by foreign money and foreign agendas and do not represent the people they claim to serve.…”

“…(Emphasis in original) This difficulty notwithstanding, it is important to attempt an overview of some definitions of civil society. These definitions have been purposefully selected from the many available in the literature (Obadare 2004) because they provide a better framework for understanding how actors' conflicting understanding of the term engender disagreements between states and civil society actors in Africa.…”

Social Movements and Socio-Political Change in Africa: The Ufungamano Initiative and Kenyan Constitutional Reform Struggles (1999–2005)

“…While the meaning of the term remains contested (see, for example, Etzioni 1973;Corry 2010;Kanyinga et al 2007;Katumanga 2004;Mati 2009;Mati et al 2010;Voss and Williams 2009;Walzer 1991;Shivji 2006;Obadare 2004;Ndegwa 1994Ndegwa , 1996, this article adopts a Gramscian perspective which holds that civil society is intertwined in a hegemonic historic bloc as a massive 'sturdy structure …and powerful system of fortresses and earthworks' behind the state that serves as a stabilizing, conservative force and ensures popular consent to hegemonic forces (Gramsci 1971, p. 238). Civil society subsumes within it a variety of social formations including the more or less spontaneously emergent associations, organisations, and social movements, nongovernmental organisations, trade unions, professional associations, student organisations and other civic organisations attuned to how social problems resonate in private life spheres, distil and transmit such reactions to the public sphere (Nasong'o 2007, p. 25).…”

From Local to Global to Transnational Civil Society: Re‐Framing Development Perspectives on the Non‐State Sector

“…When defining civil society, it is also useful to focus on it as an empirical reality rather than an analytical tool or normative ideal (Bratton 1989; Lewis 2002; Obadare 2004). This reflects the need to concentrate on the civil society that exists rather than what is presumed to exist (Bebbington 2004a; Mohan 2002).…”

“…While not directly reflected in the Gramscian approach to civil society, another important criticism of the liberal and especially neo‐Tocquevillian interpretations is that civil society is historically Western in origin. Although early theorisation was based on Europe and especially Enlightenment Europe (Obadare 2004), more recent research has focused on the USA, leading to what Howell and Pearce (2001) call the ‘Americanisation’ of the civil society debate. This refers not only to the normative, partial and conservative forces behind the recent resurgence of the concept, but also the enthusiasm for it within US Foundations as well as multilateral organisations such as the World Bank.…”