What Is the Role of Civil Society in Good Governance? Illustrate Your Answer by Using a Case-Study.

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What is the role of civil society in good governance? Illustrate your answer by using a case-study. Introduction Civil society refers to the arena outside of the state, the family, and the market where people are working together to develop and advance common interests. Sometimes, it is regarded to cover the family as well as the private sphere. In addition, it is also referred to as the society’s "third sector" that is quite distinct from business and government. According to the 21st Century Lexicon of Dictionary.com, civil society is defined as the aggregate of those non-governmental organizations as well as institutes that clearly present all the citizens’ interests and will, or as individuals and organizations within a society that are fairly independent from the government. Occasionally, the term is applied in a more general sense of elements such as an independent judiciary, freedom of speech, etc, which leads to the formation of a democratic society according to Collins English Dictionary. The term came into public discourse in the 1990s in the United States. However, its tradition seems much more longstanding and richer. More often than not, volunteering is considered as a defining feature of those organizations that form the civil society. Those organizations, in turn, are always called NGOs or NPOs. It is commonly seen that most authorities bear in mind the public participation in the trade unions, voluntary associations, and the like. However, there is no need to be incorporated into all of these as part of civil society. Judged from the historic perspective, civil society in nature can be considered as a new energy within the global context. Although churches, religious societies, community groups, and the groups related to political or media interests have acted as a main player either domestically or internationally for a long time, the active
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