From poverty to power - Oxfam-Québec

2 POWER AND POLITICS WE ORGANISE, THEREFORE WE AREpolitical places, dense with social movements demanding housing,schools, clinics, or decent water and sanitation. Protest and conflictabound, between workers and employers or service providers and users.ALLIANCES AND PARTICIPATIONIn practice, civil society is a complex political and social ecosystem,including grassroots social movements, established organisationssuch as churches and trade unions, and NGOs made up of more middleclassactivists. Alliances between such dissimilar organisations areboth fruitful and fraught, with ‘turf wars’ and frequent accusations ofco-option or of NGOs ‘speaking on behalf of’ (and claiming fundsfor) groups they do not represent.One regular source of tension is over whether to pursue the tacticsof ‘outsider’ confrontation, for example mass street protests, or lessvisible ‘insider’ engagement, such as lobbying. An outsider strategybased on mass mobilisation often needs stark, unchanging messages,but these can alienate officials and political leaders, and limit theinsiders’ access to decision-makers. Conversely, an insider strategymuddies the waters with compromises, undermining mobilisationand raising fears of betrayal and co-option.Yet both are necessary anda joint ‘insider–outsider’ strategy can be highly effective.CSOs are not immune from the wider inequalities in society. Menoften dominate, as do powerful groups based on ethnicity or caste.CSOs of hitherto marginalised groups have often emerged as splintersfrom CSOs serving the general population, when women, or indigenousor HIV-positive people, found that their specific concerns continuallyevaporated from the agendas of mixed organisations.Active participation has intrinsic merits, creating strong bonds ofbelonging and common purpose. As one woman told researchers inPakistan, ‘Before the organisation was formed, we knew nothing andwere completely ignorant. The organisation has instilled a new soul inus.’ 76 Participation can build a sense of self-confidence and involvement,enabling excluded groups and individuals to challenge theirconfinement to the margins of society.However, participation is not without costs. CSO activism can involveexhausting rounds of meetings, voluntary toil, and confrontations63