{"id":9261,"date":"2025-06-25T08:26:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T06:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/academy.grainesdepaix.org\/ressources\/civil-society\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T15:51:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T13:51:47","slug":"civil-society","status":"publish","type":"ressource","link":"https:\/\/academy.grainesdepaix.org\/en\/ressources\/civil-society\/","title":{"rendered":"Civil society"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Civil society players<\/h3>\n

Individual <\/strong>individual<\/strong> <\/em>may or may not be citizens, with or without voting rights. They may be adults, teenagers or children. <\/p>\n

Historical examples<\/em>: the demonstrations of May 68 in Paris or those in Cairo’s Tahrir Square in 2011, where neither age, nor citizenship, nor the right to vote, nor membership of an organization defined civil society in the street.<\/p>\n

Collective<\/em> players<\/strong> <\/em>are called Civil<\/strong> Society Organizations (CSOs). These are generally recognized by international bodies such as the UN, the World Bank and the EU as interlocutors to be included in consultation processes. At national level, CSOs are similarly interlocutors that democratically-functioning governments include in consultation processes. CSOs can be of all types, from local associations to large international NGOs.  <\/p>\n

The means of action<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Civil society generally acts by means of so-called active non-violence<\/em><\/a>i.e. neither violent nor passive. They do so, for example, through dialogue, voting or petitioning, through membership of a group that represents them, through awareness-raising messages that they circulate, through letters to those in power, through sit-ins or demonstrations, through writings in the media or artistic expression, through volunteering, donations or specific background work, through surveys or statistical studies, etc., or even through acts of civil disobedience. <\/p>\n

Comparison with other definitions<\/h3>\n

There are many variations between official definitions, most of which omit individual actors. Hence this attempt to clarify the notion here. <\/p>\n

Definitions that omit individual players<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

probably for organizational reasons:<\/p>\n

The UN<\/strong>
Civil society is the third sector of society, alongside government and business. It includes civil society organizations and non-governmental organizations.
Source: UN Site<\/a>  <\/a><\/p>\n

The World Bank<\/strong>
The wide range of non-governmental and non-profit organizations that animate public life, and defend the interests and values of their members or others, based on ethical, cultural, political, scientific, religious or philanthropic considerations. The term civil society organizations (CSOs) therefore refers to a wide range of organizations: community groups, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), trade unions, indigenous peoples’ organizations, charities, faith-based organizations, professional associations and private foundations.
Source: World Bank website<\/a> <\/p>\n

(Note with a smile: the nuances between their French text (combative tone) and their English text (neutral tone):<\/p>\n

animate<\/em> public life (have a presence<\/em> in public life)
defend <\/em>the interests and values(express <\/em>the interests and values).
 <\/p>\n

Definitions that include individual players<\/strong><\/span>
 <\/h4>\n

The European Union<\/strong>
Civil society is first and foremost the totality of the citizens of a commune, a region, a nation-state or the European Union. <\/p>\n

European civil society – i.e. all European citizens – plays a key role in participatory democracy. <\/p>\n

Civil society includes trade unions and employers’ organizations (the “social partners”), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), professional associations, charities, grassroots organizations, and organizations that involve citizens in local and municipal life, with a specific contribution from churches and religious communities.<\/p>\n

EU Constitutional Treaty, Rome II, 2004, reproduced in full in the Lisbon Treaty, 2007, article 8 B.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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