Advocacy in Cambodia: Increasing Democratic ... - Pact Cambodia

Increasing Democratic Space
general
advocacy
concepts
The Meaning of Advocacy
The word advocate literally means to speak
for someone. You can still find traces of the Latin
verb vocare (to call or summon) in the English
word ‘voice.’ To advocate came to mean to plead
on behalf of another, such as when a lawyer
represents a client in court. The French word for
lawyer (avocat) retains this meaning. In English
an advocate means more generally a person who
works to raise awareness and gain support for a
cause. An advocate is a more moderate term than
the previously common term of activist, which
implies a stronger form of political action.
Advocacy in its most basic form aims to
change an existing situation
that is unfavorable to a
group of people by applying
sufficient pressure on those
who control the situation so
that they cannot afford to
maintain the status quo.
Existing literature offers a
range of definitions of
advocacy, but perhaps one of
the clearest is from the
Advocacy Institute:
A series of actions designed to persuade and
influence those who hold governmental, political,
and economic power so that they will adopt and
implement public policy in ways that benefit
those with less political power and fewer
economic resources.
This definition emphasizes the public policy
objectives of advocacy to improve the quality of
life of less powerful and more vulnerable groups.
It clearly states that advocacy aims to change
existing power imbalances so that there is a wider
arena of stakeholders involved in decisionmaking.
Advocacy in the political
realm aims to enlarge the
democratic space in which the
dialogue between the
government, civil society and
private sectors takes place.
Advocacy aims to persuade people and
therefore management of information and
involvement of the media are important aspects
of an advocacy campaign. The following definition
of advocacy by UNICEF highlights the importance
of communication – both personal and through
the media – to change the views of leaders and
society in general:
Organizing information into arguments to
be communicated through various interpersonal
and media channels, with a view to getting
political and social leaders acceptance, and
preparing a society for a particular development
program.
The objectives of advocacy are therefore
usually to introduce a new law (or policy) or
change an old one, ensure that a law (or policy) is
enforced, or change the attitude or behavior of a
particular group of people.
Khmer Term for Advocacy
A few years ago there was no term in Khmer
to describe the concept of advocacy. NGO staff
today usually use the phrase ‘tasumateh’ (to
struggle for an idea). However, there is a general
consensus that most people do not understand the
term clearly and that it has negative connotations
at the local level. The use of
the term struggle is
considered by some to be
adversarial and idea may not
be concrete enough. A
preferable term would imply
obtaining support for a
cause. However, at present
there appear to be no likely
alternative terms.
Types of Advocacy
Issues
Advocacy campaigns are organized to
influence policies that affect the social, political
and economic development of a group of people,
nation, or region. 1 A campaign can be organized
because there is no current policy (e.g. domestic
violence) or to correct an unsatisfactory existing
policy (e.g. old land law). Political issues relate to
the rights of people to express themselves,
associate, elect leaders, provide input into policies
and require government accountability, for
example on the taxes levied by the government.
Advocacy in the political realm aims to enlarge the
democratic space in which the dialogue between
the government, civil society and private sectors
takes place. Economic issues relate to the
4