Civil Society’s Role in Democratic People’s Struggles

Democracy doesn’t run on autopilot. When governments falter, markets exclude, or policies drift away from the people they’re meant to serve, something has to fill the gap. That something is civil society, the vast web of organisations, movements, and citizen collectives that keeps democratic promises alive. From the dusty villages of Rajasthan to the protest sites of Delhi, civil society has repeatedly proved itself the seedbed from which people’s struggles grow. This post unpacks why this “third sector” matters so much to democracy, how it functions, and what its triumphs and challenges look like on the ground.

Understanding civil society as the third sector 🔗

Civil society occupies a distinct space between the state and the market. It’s the realm where citizens voluntarily associate to pursue shared interests that neither government nor business adequately addresses. Scholars commonly describe it as the third sector of society, distinct from government and business, encompassing non-governmental organisations, community associations, labour unions, faith-based groups, and grassroots collectives.

The idea isn’t new. It traces back to Aristotle’s koinōnia politikē and was reshaped by thinkers like Hegel, Marx, and later Antonio Gramsci, who saw civil society as the prime arena for social and political contestation. In the 1980s, as Central European states transitioned from socialism to democracy, the concept acquired fresh urgency. The term began to emphasise the sovereignty of a non-institutional, grassroots sphere that could push back against authoritarian overreach.

The core principles that define civil society 🔗

What makes civil society distinct isn’t just what it does but how it operates. A set of foundational principles gives it both legitimacy and resilience.

Autonomy 🔗

Civil society organisations (CSOs) function independently of the state and market. This independence is essential because it allows them to critique both without fear of direct reprisal. When autonomy erodes, so does the capacity to speak truth to power. Research on authoritarian systems shows that autocratic regimes often erode autonomy through restrictive legislation that hands the government greater control over the civil society sector.

Publicity and accessibility 🔗

CSOs operate in the open. Their proceedings, campaigns, and demands are public, not hidden behind closed doors. Anyone who shares the cause can, in principle, join or support them. This openness distinguishes civil society from secretive lobbies or private clubs.

Participation 🔗

Participation is the lifeblood of civil society. According to frameworks developed by institutions like the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, participatory engagement means members enjoy access to resources for the common good, are free to be involved in civic action, and can participate in group affiliations that foster community belonging.

Rule of law 🔗

Civil society thrives where constitutional authority protects the rights of citizens and social groups. Under the rule of law, communities are legitimised to hold economic and political actors accountable. Without this framework, CSOs exist at the mercy of whoever holds power.

Why civil society matters in democratic struggles 🔗

Democracies are never static. Elected governments can drift from their mandates. Markets can deepen inequalities rather than solve them. In both situations, civil society steps in as a mediator, a watchdog, and sometimes as an outright challenger.

Consider the Indian experience. The post-independent Indian state was founded on principles of liberal democracy with an agenda of social change. Yet its promises of equity and social transformation have remained incomplete. As legal scholars have noted, much of civil society’s interventions over the last seven decades have worked to redeem the promise of the Constitution inside and outside courts. The struggle has been less about writing new rights and more about ensuring existing ones are actually implemented.

The global resurgence of civil society became especially visible after the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe. CSOs emerged as advocates for equity, participation, and public fairness in contexts where the state had lost legitimacy and the market had yet to deliver. Since then, civil society has expanded its agenda to cover the survival of marginalised communities, unequal distribution of development benefits, and sustainable development.

The functions civil society performs 🔗

Civil society does more than organise protests. Its roles span several interconnected functions that collectively strengthen democracy.

Championing the marginalised 🔗

Groups often left behind by mainstream development find a platform in civil society. The Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), for instance, has empowered women in the informal sector, advocating for their rights and livelihoods. Organisations focused on Dalits, Adivasis, and minorities have consistently used civil society spaces to push their concerns into the national conversation.

Watchdog and accountability roles 🔗

CSOs monitor government and corporate actions, promoting transparency and good governance. The Association for Democratic Reforms exposes election finance details, and its data-driven campaigns contributed to the Supreme Court’s decision to scrap opaque electoral bonds in 2024.

Service delivery and innovation 🔗

Where the state’s reach falls short, civil society fills gaps. Relief networks like Goonj mobilised supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Akshaya Patra Foundation implements mid-day meal programmes that feed millions of schoolchildren daily. These organisations are often more agile than bureaucracies and can experiment with approaches the state finds hard to adopt.

Policy advocacy and legal reform 🔗

Civil society has shaped landmark laws in education, food security, and anti-corruption through research, campaigns, and litigation. The Right to Education Act, the National Food Security Act, and the Lokpal Act all carry the fingerprints of sustained civic campaigns.

Case study: The MKSS and the Right to Information movement 🔗

No case illustrates civil society’s role in democratic struggle better than the movement that gave India the Right to Information Act. It began in the dusty villages of central Rajasthan, not in any capital city.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a group of activists led by Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey, and Shankar Singh began organising landless labourers and marginal farmers around the right to minimum wages. On May Day 1990, they formally registered as the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, building a cadre of marginal peasants and landless workers from the lower socio-economic strata.

The struggle took an unexpected turn. While fighting for minimum wages, MKSS members realised that to enforce their economic rights, they needed access to the documents the government was keeping secret. Muster rolls, payment registers, and expenditure records were the battleground. As the organisation realised, enforcing economic rights required the right to access documents that formed the basis for granting or denying those rights.

From jan sunwais to a national movement 🔗

MKSS pioneered the jan sunwai, or public hearing, where ordinary villagers examined government records in open village assemblies. The famous 1996 hearing in Beawar, attended by thousands, exposed ghost workers on payrolls, inflated bills, and systematic embezzlement of funds meant for the poor.

The slogan “Hamara Paisa, Hamara Hisaab” (our money, our accounts) captured the spirit of the movement. From these local struggles, the demand grew into a nationwide campaign. The National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI), formed in 1996, coordinated the push at the national level. Rajasthan became the first state to pass an RTI law in 2000, and the national Right to Information Act followed in 2005, making India one of the first developing countries to guarantee legal access to information for citizens.

Other landmark people’s struggles powered by civil society 🔗

The RTI story is far from the only example. Civil society has been the seedbed for many transformative struggles.

The Narmada Bachao Andolan 🔗

Led by Medha Patkar and other activists, this movement against large dams on the Narmada river raised fundamental questions about displacement, environmental cost, and the rights of tribal communities. It reshaped global debates on development and led to reforms in how international financial institutions approach project funding.

The anti-corruption movement 🔗

The Anna Hazare-led movement in 2011 showed how civil society could mobilise millions on a single issue. Though its outcomes remain debated, the movement eventually contributed to the passage of the Lokpal Act and brought anti-corruption to the centre of public discourse.

Global parallels 🔗

Civil society’s role isn’t limited to one country. The Arab Spring saw CSOs organise protests and sustain momentum for democratic reform across the Arab world. In the United States, the Black Lives Matter movement has pushed racial justice and police reform into mainstream policy conversations. These movements share a common thread: they all emerged from civil society spaces, outside formal political institutions.

Challenges facing civil society today 🔗

Civil society’s victories haven’t come without cost, and the road ahead is increasingly difficult.

Shrinking civic space 🔗

Across the world, CSOs face growing restrictions. In India, the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act and its amendments have reshaped NGO funding. The 2020 amendments banned CSOs from re-granting foreign money to other NGOs and capped administrative spending at 20%, with the result that thousands of organisations lost FCRA registration, limiting their ability to receive grants.

Funding vulnerabilities 🔗

Heavy reliance on foreign funding makes CSOs vulnerable to shifting geopolitical currents and regulatory changes. Domestic philanthropy hasn’t fully filled the gap, forcing many organisations to scale back or shut down.

Legitimacy and trust 🔗

Scandals, internal conflicts, and sometimes genuine capture by elite interests have dented public trust in some civil society organisations. Maintaining transparency within CSOs themselves is an ongoing challenge.

Digital divide 🔗

While technology has opened new frontiers for organising, smaller and rural CSOs often lack basic digital tools. Surveys have found a stark gap between the internet access CSOs need and the tools they actually possess, limiting their outreach in an increasingly digital society.

The road ahead for civil society 🔗

Despite the headwinds, civil society remains indispensable. Its strength often lies in what scholars call community rootedness, which provides financial independence and a capacity to leverage fractured fields of power as political actors enmeshed in local alliances. An activist once put it well: as long as local communities support the work, the stoppage of formal funds cannot shut it down.

Technology offers new possibilities. Online petitions, digital fundraising, and cross-border collaboration allow CSOs to mobilise faster and reach wider audiences than ever before. At the same time, the growing sophistication of surveillance and disinformation means civil society must adapt to defend not just rights, but also truth itself.

Looking forward, the health of democracy will depend on whether civil society can sustain its core functions: giving voice to the voiceless, holding power accountable, experimenting with solutions, and defending constitutional values. When the state falters and markets exclude, it is this third sector that keeps democratic promises alive.

What do you think? Do you believe civil society organisations can maintain their autonomy while also receiving state or foreign funding? Which people’s struggle, past or present, do you think has most reshaped how democracy actually works for ordinary citizens?

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_society
2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/third-sector
3. https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/32593/
4. https://www.icnl.org/resources/research/ijnl/defining-characteristics-of-civil-society
5. https://verfassungsblog.de/civil-society-and-its-engagement-with-the-constitution/
6. https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/role-of-civil-society-significance-challenges-way-forward
7. https://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/programs/ai/rti/india/articles/The%20Movement%20for%20RTI%20in%20India.pdf
8. https://mkssindia.org/struggle-for-peoples-right-to-information/
9. https://mkssindia.org/pages/aboutus.html
10. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17448689.2025.2515038