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| Society & Culture: Role of Civil Society |
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The New Order leaders neglected the nation-building step of creating a strong civil society to help secure democratic stability. A civil society that brings down an
authoritarian regime will need different qualities if it is then to consolidate democracy. In the new system, civil society needs to be able to engage in political
compromise and internal dissent, exercises that would have hindered their ability to unite in opposition to the nondemocratic regime. Unless civil society is renewed,
it will be very difficult to consolidate democracy in Indonesia.
Civil society has an important role to play in demanding transparency, in ferreting out corruption, and in bridging the remaining gaps between citizens and
their government. An active civil society could increase diversity and creativity in local government, improve the delivery and quality of government services,
decrease tolerance for corruption, and increase pressure for accountability, among other important social changes. Please click here for further analysis of the role of NGOs.
Recommendations:
- An important way to build Indonesian civil society is through the formation of networks of groups based on interest and expertise, both within Indonesia and
globally. Such networks could strengthen and empower civil society by making small organizations aware that they are part of a larger force for reform and could
provide opportunities for sharing ideas and expertise.
- Skills development is another important way to build civil society. Training, particularly of women and youth, could help communities develop a strong civil
society capable of social change. Different types of training programs may be appropriate to different groups and could include general occupational skills,
socio-political skills such as mediation and community organization as well as more general civics courses. This effort would require trained teams of local people
who are prepared to work with each community. International organizations could aid in building the capacity to conduct such training.
- Efforts should be considered to promote a spirit of volunteerism, especially among young people. These volunteers could play an important role in the training
of others, as suggested above.
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