ONTRAC 18. Civil Society Strengthening

Since the end of the Cold War and the reduction in the use of aid to support regimes according to their respective Cold War alliances, there has been a marked resurgence of interest in concepts such as governance, Civil Society, local democracy, accountability and transparency. Initially, NGOs were identified as the natural interlocutors for governmental and intergovernmental agencies wanting to promote Civil Society. However, in recent years many official agencies have recognised that NGOs alone are not synonymous with Civil Society. INTRAC has been keen to monitor and engage in the debate on appropriate and effective means of supporting Civil Society.

This edition of ontrac explores further the concept and practice of Civil Society Strengthening. INTRAC plans to reflect upon progress made in relation to key aspects of the development of Civil Society in our forthcoming 10th Anniversary Conference: ‘False Expectations? Reviewing the Thinking and Practice of Civil Society Building in International Development’. At the Conference we hope to bring together INTRAC’s wide network of Associates, NGOs in Northern, Eastern and Southern countries, academics, policy-makers, official aid agencies and private foundations in order to review progress and share experiences in this area. In preparation for December’s Conference, we look forward to hearing from researchers, policy-makers and practitioners with their views on this subject and the questions it raises.