KYRGYZSTAN TODAY Policy briefs on - Department of Geography

this policy approach is not always applicable, for instance, for the service-delivery
NGOs that work with the social needs of various target groups in the community, where
coordination of efforts with the state helps optimize social assistance and ensure better
outreach, so these NGOs try to advocate a constructive relationship with government
agencies.
So far, the discussions initiated by the NGO community aimed at defining the
relationship between the NGO sector and government authorities have not led to a
forged vision of NGOs as actors that have various roles and, therefore, various types
of relationship with the state. However, the fact that these discussions take place
highlights attempts by NGOs to develop such an understanding. One of the recent
developments is that the Law on Public Benefit (Socialnyi Zakaz) has been adopted
by the Jogorku Kenesh 7 , setting up the framework for cooperation between state
and civil society organizations in the social sphere this demonstrates the readiness
of the authorities to build an inter-sectoral partnership with NGOs that specialize in
social services. However, time will tell whether this law remains a mere document
without practical implications, or if there will be examples of sustainable schemes of
cooperation in place. Up to now, no effective forms of cooperation between the state
and NGOs have been established besides common participation in round tables and
conferences aimed at discussing draft laws or legal reforms, often organized with the
support of international organizations. Numerous attempts by donors to promote the
idea of social partnership to complement the watchdog approach of NGOs in relations
with the state have not yielded any feasible results.
It is unlikely that a comprehensive concept of a civil society with its various roles
and functions will emerge in the current situation when the authorities are extensively
abusing their power and lack a constructive policy agenda vis-а-vis the people. In such
circumstances, defining functions and areas of responsibility for civil society is an
unfortunate undertaking, given the general reluctance of individuals in power to treat the
state and its citizens as interrelated components that constitute one societal framework.
Conclusion
With the help of the international community, NGOs in Kyrgyzstan have managed
to develop and nurture quite a critical public sphere, with citizens able to express their
opinions and disagreements with state policies when they become unjust. Nevertheless,
the current context shows that NGOs have so far been unable to defend the rights of
citizens and liberalize society, and the state system. Democratization is a long-term and
complex process that requires serious transformational changes in society and cannot be
achieved solely through policies that have been shaped externally. Moreover, substantive
political and societal reforms of this kind require the commitment of both the state and
citizens to adhere to them. Therefore, it is quite unlikely that a relatively new actor for
the local environment, such as civil society organizations like NGOs, will be capable of
liberalizing the state in the situation when its societal framework has become fragile,
and no agreement on the new state model that will correspond to democratic aspirations
7
V Kyrgyzstane prinyat zakonoproekt “O gosudarstvennom socialnom zakaze, 05-06-08, Nargiza
Yuldasheva, Bishkek – IA “24.kg”, http://www.24.kg/parliament/2008/06/05/86689.html , accessed 12
June 2008. According to the principle of public benefit (socialnyi zakaz), state authorities allocate public
money to local non-governmental organizations through open competitions to carry out projects aimed at
implementing state social policy.
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