What Civil Society Can Do to Develop Democracy

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What Civil Society Can Do to Develop Democracy

Presentation to NGO Leaders, February 10, 2004,

Convention Center, Baghdad

Good afternoon. I want to speak to you briefly today about the role that civil society plays in building and strengthening democracy. You are all civil society leaders, who are engaged in this effort in various ways, so I am very pleased to be able to share these ideas with you.

By civil society I mean the entire range of organized groups and institutions that are independent of the state, voluntary, and at least to some extent self-generating and self-reliant. This of course includes non-governmental organizations like the ones in this room, but also independent mass media, think tanks, universities, and social and religious groups.

To be part of civil society, groups must meet some other conditions as well. In a democracy, civil society groups have respect for the law, for the rights of individuals, and for the rights of other groups to express their interests and opinions. Part of what the word "civil" implies is tolerance and the accommodation of pluralism and diversity.

Civil society groups may establish ties to