NGOs and Civil Society Campaigns, Revolutions

Table of Contents
1. Civil Society
2. Views of Thinkers on Civil Society
3. Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)
4. Theories of Revolution
5. Chronological List of Political Revolutions Worldwide
6. Colour Revolutions
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Civil Society

Civil society refers to the arena of organised social life that is voluntary, independent of the state and the market, and where citizens associate to pursue shared interests, values and purposes. It provides space for people to deliberate, participate and influence public policy in order to secure rights and interests of different sections of society.

• Historical note: The term civil society was used by Adam Ferguson in his essay An Essay on the History of Civil Society (1767).
• Conceptual definition: As Ernest Gellner observed, civil society is "that set of diverse non-governmental institutions which is strong enough to counterbalance the state and, while not preventing the state from fulfilling its role of keeper of the peace and arbitrator between major interests, can nevertheless prevent it from dominating and atomizing the rest of the society."

Key characteristics of civil society

• Third sector: Civil society is often described as the third sector, distinct from government and the commercial (for-profit) sector.
• Plural and voluntary: It comprises voluntary associations and organisations that emerge from citizens' initiatives.
• Diverse composition: It includes charities, development NGOs, community groups, women's organisations, faith-based organisations, professional associations, trade unions, social movements, coalitions and advocacy groups.
• Independent voice: It gives expression to marginalised groups and citizens who may not be heard in formal political institutions.
• Watchdog and educator: Civil society improves public awareness, informs citizens, strengthens democratic participation and holds government accountable.

Functions and roles of civil society

• Representation and advocacy: Represent shared interests and press for policy change on behalf of particular groups.
• Service delivery: Provide humanitarian assistance, basic services and community development where the state or market may be absent or weak.
• Monitoring and accountability: Monitor government policies, programmes and expenditure; undertake social audits and public interest campaigns.
• Mobilisation and resource generation: Mobilise local resources, volunteers and grassroots initiatives to support development and planning.
• Capacity building: Facilitate education, training and technical assistance for communities and local institutions.
• Communication and participation: Help communicate citizen needs into planning processes and foster participatory governance.

Views of Thinkers on Civil Society

• Charles Taylor: Described civil society as "a web of autonomous associations, independent of the state, which [binds] citizens together in matters of common concern, and [which] by their mere existence or action could have an effect on public policy."
• Robert Putnam: In Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy and Bowling Alone, Putnam emphasised social capital-networks, norms and trust-that enables collective action and argued that responsible government is a consequence of a strong civil society.
• Immanuel Kant: Saw civil society as a political arrangement that secures individuals' rights through public laws.
• Larry Diamond: Defined civil society as "the realm of organised social life that is open, voluntary, self-generating, (largely) self-supporting, and autonomous from the state, bound by a legal order or a set of shared rules."

Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)

Definitions:

• World Bank: NGOs are "private organisations that pursue activities to relieve suffering, promote the interests of the poor, protect the environment, provide basic social services, or undertake community development."
• United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI): An NGO is "a not-for-profit, voluntary citizens' group organised on a local, national or international level to address issues in support of the public good."
• UN Charter (1945): The term "non-governmental organization" first appears in Chapter X, Article 71 of the United Nations Charter.

Nature and purpose: An NGO is a private, independent, not-for-profit entity committed to development, welfare, humanitarian assistance, advocacy or research. Some NGOs operate primarily as voluntary groups supporting individuals and families; others emphasise community empowerment and structural change.

• Private: Separate from government control.
• Non-profit: Profits are not distributed to owners or directors.
• Self-governing: Operational autonomy in governance and activities.
• Purpose-driven: Registered organisations or informal groups with clearly defined aims and objectives.
• Diverse forms: May be grassroots volunteer groups, professional charities, research bodies or advocacy coalitions.

Types of NGOs and modes of operation

• Operational NGOs: Primarily design and implement development projects and services.
• Advocacy NGOs: Primarily defend or promote a cause and seek to influence public policy and international organisations.

• Charities
• Service organisations
• Participation-focused groups
• Empowerment, training and capacity-building organisations
• Advocacy groups
• Consultancy and research organisations
• Faith-based / religious organisations

• Community-based organisations (CBOs)
• City-wide organisations
• State level NGOs
• National NGOs
• International NGOs (INGOs)

Related terms: Community Based Organisation (CBO), Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) and Voluntary Organisation (VO) are often used interchangeably with NGOs though they emphasise different functional aspects.
Roles beyond service delivery: Many NGOs undertake lobbying and advocacy to influence policy and law at state and national levels; they act as intermediaries between citizens and the state.

Theories of Revolution

Scholars have offered varied explanations for why revolutions occur, emphasising structural causes, political breakdown, social mobilisation and international influences. Below are some influential theories and typologies.

• Theda Skocpol (American sociologist and political scientist) in States and Social Revolutions: A Comparative Analysis of France, Russia and China (1979) analysed revolutionary transformations comparatively.
• She defines social revolutions as rapid, basic transformations of a society's state and class structures, occurring through intense socio-political conflict.
• Skocpol distinguishes social revolutions from rebellions; revolutions reshape both political and social structures in mutually reinforcing ways.
• She argues that a necessary condition for social revolution is the breakdown of the state's administrative and military capacity.
• Skocpol identifies four central factors shaping revolutions: state social structures, international competitive pressures, international demonstration effects, and class relations.

• Crane Brinton in The Anatomy of Revolution (1938) compared revolutions to a fever.
• He described revolutions in three stages: the symptoms (early disorders), the fever (the revolutionary crisis and overthrow), and the break (the end of revolutionary intensity and a return to order, often under new institutions).

Typologies of Revolution

• Harold Lasswell and Abraham Kaplan: Proposed a three-category typology distinguishing palace revolutions, political revolutions and social revolutions.
• Samuel Huntington: Suggested four categories of revolutionary change: internal war, revolutionary coup, reform coup, and palace revolution.

Chronological List of Political Revolutions Worldwide

• English Revolution / Glorious Revolution - 1642-1660 (Civil War), 1688 (Glorious Revolution); England. Civil war between monarchy and Parliament; execution of Charles I; the Glorious Revolution of 1688 established parliamentary supremacy and constitutional monarchy.
• American Revolution - 1775-1783; United States (colonies vs Britain). Thirteen colonies fought British rule; independence declared in 1776; formation of the United States.
• French Revolution - 1789-1799; France. Overthrow of absolute monarchy, abolition of feudal privileges and rise of republicanism; Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
• Haitian Revolution - 1791-1804; Haiti (Saint-Domingue). The only successful large-scale slave revolt; overthrew French colonial rule and established the first independent Black republic.
• Latin American Wars of Independence - 1810-1825; Various (Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Peru, etc.). Led by figures such as Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín; ended Spanish and Portuguese colonial rule.
• Belgian Revolution - 1830; Belgium. Seceded from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and formed an independent Belgian state.
• Meiji Restoration - 1868; Japan. Political revolution restoring power to the Emperor, ending the Tokugawa shogunate and initiating rapid modernisation and Westernisation.
• Russian Revolution (1905) - 1905; Russia. A major revolutionary wave producing limited constitutional reforms and the establishment of the Duma.
• Mexican Revolution - 1910-1920; Mexico. Social and political upheaval against the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz; resulted in land reforms and the 1917 Constitution.
• Chinese Xinhai Revolution - 1911; China. Overthrew the Qing dynasty and established the Republic of China under Sun Yat-sen.
• Russian Revolutions (February & October) - 1917; Russia. February Revolution ended Tsarist rule and established a Provisional Government; October Revolution saw the Bolsheviks under Lenin seize power and later form the Soviet Union.
• German Revolution - 1918-1919; Germany. Overthrow of the German monarchy at the end of World War I; creation of the Weimar Republic.
• Chinese Communist Revolution - 1946-1949; China. Civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communists; victory of Mao Zedong and establishment of the People's Republic of China.
• Cuban Revolution - 1953-1959; Cuba. Fidel Castro and Che Guevara led armed struggle against Batista; socialist state established in 1959.
• Algerian Revolution (War of Independence) - 1954-1962; Algeria. Armed struggle against French colonial rule; independence achieved in 1962.
• Iranian Revolution - 1979; Iran. Overthrew the Shah and led to the establishment of the Islamic Republic under Ayatollah Khomeini.
• Nicaraguan Revolution (Sandinista) - 1978-1990; Nicaragua. The Sandinista National Liberation Front overthrew the Somoza dictatorship in 1979; socialist reforms followed.
• German Reunification Revolution - 1989-1990; East Germany (GDR). Peaceful protests led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and reunification of East and West Germany.
• Velvet Divorce - 1993; Czechoslovakia. Peaceful split of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
• Rose Revolution - 2003; Georgia. Peaceful protests led to the resignation of President Shevardnadze and pro-democratic reforms.
• Orange Revolution - 2004-2005; Ukraine. Mass protests against electoral fraud; annulment of election and rerun with a pro-democracy result.
• Tulip Revolution - 2005; Kyrgyzstan. Popular uprising led to the ouster of President Askar Akayev.
• Arab Spring Revolutions - 2010-2012; Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria, Bahrain. A series of uprisings demanding democracy, human rights and an end to authoritarian rule; outcomes varied across countries.

Colour Revolutions

Colour revolutions denote a wave of popular uprisings, mainly in former communist states and other regions since the late 1990s and early 2000s, characterised by mass mobilisation, calls for free elections and removal of authoritarian leaders. They are often identified by symbolic names (colours or flowers) adopted by protest movements.

• Bulldozer Revolution (2000) - Serbia. Led by the Otpor! movement and democratic opposition to the Socialist Party regime; aimed to improve socioeconomic conditions and restore national prestige after wars and isolation. International actors, including some Western politicians and organisations, provided support to the movement.
• Orange Revolution (2004-2005) - Ukraine. Mass protests against electoral fraud culminating in annulment of the contested election and a rerun that brought a pro-democratic leadership.
• Tulip Revolution (2005) - Kyrgyzstan. Also known as the First Kyrgyz Revolution; resulted in the removal of President Askar Akayev.
• Jasmine Revolution (2010-2011) - Tunisia. Popular uprising in response to corruption, unemployment, inflation and restricted political freedoms; its success inspired wider regional protests (the Arab Spring).
• Cedar Revolution (2005) - Lebanon. Triggered by the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri; notable for its largely non-violent civil resistance and reliance on peaceful protest to press for political change.

Concluding notes
Civil society and NGOs play complementary roles in democratic governance: they provide services, represent marginalised voices, enable participation and act as watchdogs. Revolutions and popular movements, on the other hand, represent intense episodes of collective political change driven by a mix of structural weaknesses, state breakdown, class relations and international influences. Understanding both civil society dynamics and revolutionary processes is essential for analysing political transformation, democratic deepening and social change.