Transformations of Arab Civil Society and Its Prospects in an Age of Harshness

By Abdelbasset Ben Hassen

When will the tragedy of denying the existence of civil society in our countries and refusing to recognize its role come to an end?

The social space in our countries is becoming increasingly harsh toward civil society organizations, at times through restrictions and at others through marginalization. Civic voices are also being suffocated under the weight of legal and political obstacles, in addition to accusations of betrayal, while projects live under the fear of disappearing and the impossibility of sustaining their visions, impact, and resources.

Over recent decades, Arab countries have witnessed, to varying degrees, the emergence, development, and diversification of civil society organizations. Through their activities and struggles, these organizations have succeeded in expanding the space they occupy within their societies and in becoming a force for criticism, proposals, education, and awareness-raising. They have also contributed to efforts to transform civic space into a component of social space capable of influencing it through the development of laws and policies and the humanization of societies based on a vision grounded in the values of freedom, equality, justice, and participation.

However, this development has remained limited and has encountered a continuous ebb and flow, as well as historical obstacles that have prevented the concept of civil society from becoming firmly established in the culture of our societies and have prevented its mission, visions, and programs from becoming part of political, social, and economic discourse.

Our countries are also witnessing various forms of pressure against women and men working in civic space, including violations of freedom of activity, assembly, and movement, arbitrary arrest, violations of dignity, reputational attacks, accusations of betrayal and apostasy, and violations of the right to privacy.

Our societies have been deprived of an important civic force because of the prevalence of a culture of authoritarianism and prohibition and the rejection of diversity, participation, and citizenship. The failure to recognize civic space as a fundamental element in transforming and humanizing social space has also contributed to obstructing the establishment of the rule of law.

We are living through a historical impasse in which we celebrate the virtues of sustainable human development and seek the desired civilizational progress, while major social forces are subjected to restrictions on their participation in building the future through non-governmental organizations, trade unions, social movements, and diverse citizen initiatives. This historical inertia is becoming increasingly severe as the countries of our region pass through a decisive turning point in their modern history.

Despite the significant human and natural potential and resources found in most countries, they are experiencing crises that hinder the paths and prospects of sustainable development. Reality reveals major problems, including poverty and exclusion, structural economic and social difficulties, the absence of reform projects, weak governance, and the failure to include broad segments of the population, such as women, young people, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

Our countries also suffer from the absence of an equitable distribution of wealth, the failure to establish democratic political systems, and the absence of public policies that protect the environment and address factors that undermine quality of life. These difficulties become even more serious in the context of the conflicts and wars affecting many countries, which have resulted in the destruction of infrastructure, the impoverishment of enormous numbers of people, casualties, displacement, and forced migration.

These crises and problems prevent the countries of the region from achieving genuine progress across the various dimensions of sustainable development indicators.

In recent years, many countries have witnessed repeated calls for legal and institutional reforms that would enable them to emerge from these crises and build societies that are more just, inclusive, democratic, and equal. The emergence of social movements, particularly youth movements, has contributed to deepening and consolidating this demand. These are civic movements that call for citizenship, using different forms of activism, including work through associations and social media networks.

Nevertheless, despite all these demands, the reform process has not advanced as required. This can be explained by the absence of the political will and public policies capable of bringing about profound changes in legal, institutional, and social frameworks in a manner that would enable our societies to become more humane.

We stand today at a civilizational turning point. The sustainable development crises in the region are an inevitable consequence of depriving people of participation in decision-making, policymaking, and control over their own destiny. These crises are moving at an alarming speed toward undermining the foundations of life and coexistence.

The severe deterioration in living standards experienced by our societies, impoverishment, the undermining of the value of the common good, the significant decline of public policies in the fields of health, education, transportation, employment, and housing, and the inability to find solutions to problems related to the environment, desertification, energy resources, and water all indicate that we are moving toward societies of harshness, in which questions of development and living together are answered with greater domination instead of participation, and with coercion instead of dialogue and cooperation.

Today, all actors stand perplexed and unable to answer the fundamental questions. The first of these is: Will we continue to govern our countries using the same approaches that have proven incapable of building societies of well-being, security, and knowledge instead of societies of fear, deprivation, and ignorance?

At its core, answering the question of the sustainability of life in our countries raises the question of how we view the human being and how human potential can be liberated. This necessarily requires rebuilding our societies on the basis of a new social contract founded on human rights and citizenship, one that establishes the values of equality, freedom, dignity, and justice as the common foundation upon which laws, institutions, and economic, social, and cultural projects are built.

This cannot be achieved without a definitive civilizational recognition of the fundamental role of civil society in sustainable development and an expansion of civic space through laws, procedures, and policies that support broad participation, remove restrictions imposed on civil society, and contribute to building its diversity and sustainability.

Civil society itself, however, also needs bold, broad, collective, and pluralistic reflection that raises questions about its relationship today with the authorities and society, its internal governance, and its impact on the lives of individuals and society.

We need a new practice of power based on participation, governance, and effectiveness. We also need civic movements that emerge from their isolation and lay the foundations for a new social contract capable of leading the present and the future away from fear and harshness.