The Role of Civil Society in India and Afghanistan: A Comparative Perspective

This paper compares civil society’s role in the past two decades in India and Afghanistan. To give a more detailed examination of civil society organisations’ (CSOs) role, the authors examine and contrast civil society’s composition, interaction with the government, civic challenges and the latest changes. In addition to conceptual clarity, they use Michael Edwards’ work as a theoretical foundation, which is ideal because it pertains to both countries. Despite the similarities in their approaches, there are important differences in how both states frame the need for greater involvement of civil society actors. The authors also find significant differences in the following: (1) the treatment of civil society by state actors, (2) the composition of CSOs varies significantly between the two countries due to different national traditions and institutional relationships and (3) the status of CSOs/non-governmental organisations has also changed significantly in recent years in both settings. They use these and other findings to assess civil society’s ability to play economic, political and social roles, as proposed by Edwards in civil society. They discover significant differences in the political and social functions emerging. This comparison should help researchers structure subsequent scholarly studies of the role of CSO and guide practitioners working in the sector.