Civil society

See also: Company

" It takes six months to organize elections, ten years to install an market economy, but a generation to create an civil society. However, without civil society, there is no democracy " ()

The civil society , it is " the field of the organized social life which is voluntary, largely self-sufficing and autonomous of État" (Larry Diamond). An election is one of the principal events where the civil society is mobilized, in particular through the education of the electorate. It is the social body, in opposition to the political community.

Distinction between citizens and organizations

The civil society is before all the totality of the citizens of a commune, an area, a State - nation or - now - European Union. However, in practice, those do not act individually but within the associative framework. Such an association can be considered representative provided that it were made up on the basis of the will and the own interests of the citizens declaring itself formally and juridically members of association.

The White paper of the Gouvernance of the European Union gives this definition: " The civil society gathers in particular the Trade-union organizations and employers' (the " partners sociaux"), the governmental organizations (ONG), professional associations, the charitable organizations, the basic organizations, the organizations which imply the citizens in the local and municipal life, with a specific contribution of the Churches and communities religieuses".

There is in this design the risk of a certain confusion between the company like whole of the Citoyen S and of the supposed organizations to represent their will, especially when some of them claim to incarnate the whole of the citizens and thus car-allot a Légitimité of representative of " la" civil society in general.

So that such an association/organization is indeed an active part and the expression of the will of citizens it proves to be necessary that associations forming the civil society have of a structure and a completely democratic form of interior action. (These needs exclude consequently from the organizations which was consisted the State, the economy or of the churches).

There do not remain about it less q' one association translates a Perception security questions which is specific for him, with a certain manner of apprehending the globality which is not necessarily representative of the company as a whole.

Particular aspects

According to the project of the Constitutional treaty of the EU, article I-47 " Principle of the Participative democracy, the European civil society - thus the totality of the European citizens - plays a main role like the actor of the participative democracy: " The institutions of the Union maintain an opened, transparent and regular dialog with representative associations and the company civile."

From the point of view of the Undertaken S, the exercise of the responsibility sociétale involves the implication of the civil society. The corresponding organizations and associations are recipients company.

See too

Related articles

For the legal meaning, to see Company (French right).

Internal bonds

External bonds

  • " Towards an civil society européenne" Jean-Claude BOUAL, Paris/Horst GRÜTZKE, Potsdam. Published with the Internet on the " Platform of the Civil society européenne"
  • Administration Project and Leading cost of the elections
  • of TSCF on the civil society and the governments

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