From poverty to power - Oxfam-Québec

2 POWER AND POLITICS WE ORGANISE, THEREFORE WE ARECompared with the steady hum of the state’s machinery, civilsociety activity waxes and wanes, coming into its own in moments ofprotest and crisis, and often falling away after a victory – such as winninga change in the law, or the election of a more progressive governmentthat promptly recruits key civil society leaders. In such circumstances,many CSOs find it difficult to move from a strategy of opposition toone of engagement. Other CSOs, notably those sponsored by religiousinstitutions, are much more stable, outlasting all but a handful ofgovernments, but even they experience cycles of activism and silence.Less dramatic than mass protest, but equally important, civil societycan demonstrate broad public support for policy changes, thus makingit easier for political leaders to act and resist pressure from those whowould rather maintain the status quo. In the late 1990s, for example,the Maria Elena Cuadra Women’s Movement in Nicaragua collected50,000 signatures calling for better working conditions in the country’sexport-processing zones, prompting the minister of labour to enforcethe law and convincing factory owners to adopt a voluntary codeof conduct.Civil society also plays an important, if less visible, role in moreclosed political systems, such as one-party states. A study in Viet Namrevealed a virtuous circle of state and NGO investment in training andeducation, improved communications (for example, an upgradedroad, funded by the World Bank, which allowed easier contactbetween villages and the district authorities), and pressure from thecentral government for local authorities to encourage popular participationin poverty reduction efforts.As a result, both villagers and localauthorities gained confidence and began to exchange opinions andideas more openly. Women in particular became much more vocalafter receiving training in agricultural methods and making more regulartrips away from the village. 75Much of the long-term impact of CSOs is based on the slow buildingof people’s skills and capabilities, fostering changes in attitudesand beliefs. In Serbia, for example, a network of groups is seeking tostrengthen the negotiating and lobbying skills of the Roma population,the poorest community in Europe, in part by ensuring thatmore women and young people join and assume leadership positions.61