Thinking Democratically: A Comprehensive Approach to Countering and Preventing Shrinking Space
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Emblematic civil society successes<br />
Kenya<br />
Shelved amendments <strong>to</strong> the Public Benefits Organization Act<br />
(2013)<br />
Georgia<br />
Adoption of pre-election “must carry, must offer” package for<br />
media pluralism (2012)<br />
Honduras<br />
Guatemala<br />
S<strong>to</strong>pped adoption of reforms <strong>to</strong> the Penal Code which would<br />
safeguard political parties from being charged for elec<strong>to</strong>ral<br />
funding crimes (2015)<br />
Zimbabwe<br />
Built a wide <strong>and</strong> effective coalition encompassing various nonstate<br />
ac<strong>to</strong>rs (including the church) <strong>to</strong> broaden the basis <strong>and</strong><br />
inform constitutional reforms (2013).<br />
Installation of the Mission <strong>to</strong> Support against Corruption <strong>and</strong><br />
Impunity (2016)<br />
In success cases, civil society is generally empowered by a progressive constitution <strong>and</strong> somewhat<br />
independent judiciary <strong>to</strong> defend democratic space. However, when the judiciary is not independent,<br />
it cannot be used <strong>to</strong> defend constitutionalism <strong>and</strong> fundamental freedoms, thereby greatly limiting<br />
civil society’s ability <strong>to</strong> defend <strong>and</strong> open up democratic space. This is clearly reflected in the case<br />
studies of El Salvador <strong>and</strong> Guatemala, where citizens have resorted <strong>to</strong> other forms of influence<br />
instead, such as popular mobilisation on the streets <strong>and</strong> strikes. In Guatemala, a nation-wide strike<br />
forced the powerful Congress <strong>to</strong> withdraw their amendment <strong>to</strong> the Penal Code that weakened parties’<br />
responsibility regarding crimes in elec<strong>to</strong>ral funding. Social movements have also arisen in response<br />
<strong>to</strong> the inability of political parties <strong>and</strong> the judiciary <strong>to</strong> uphold the constitution. So even in cases<br />
where civil society is not backed up by an independent judiciary <strong>to</strong> uphold the constitution, civil<br />
society has been the champion when it comes <strong>to</strong> defending democratic space.<br />
At the same time, civil society mobilisation has not always been positive for democratic space.<br />
Conservative civil society groups have also grown stronger <strong>and</strong> more effective in actively closing<br />
democratic space. In Georgia, a new social movement managed <strong>to</strong> mobilise thous<strong>and</strong>s <strong>to</strong> demonstrate<br />
in the ‘Georgian March’, with dem<strong>and</strong>s that included a ban on foreign funding <strong>to</strong> Georgian NGOs <strong>and</strong><br />
exclusionary citizen <strong>and</strong> residence regulations. In Europe, certain political parties have thrived<br />
mobilising on similar conservative ideologies aiming <strong>to</strong> exclude particular groups of people, such as<br />
migrants or LGBTQ+. What is striking, is that these conservative voices – be it civil society or political<br />
parties – have more political space <strong>to</strong> push back against progressive agendas than they did before. 64<br />
5 years ago, these groups have now grown in<strong>to</strong> a part of the mainstream.<br />
64<br />
See Youngs, R. et al, (2018): The Mobilization of Conservative Civil Society. Available here.<br />
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