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Modernizing Democracy pp 83–96Cite as

The Impact of Civil Society on Sustainable Development

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Abstract

The labels “civil society organization” (CSO) or “civil society actor” tend to have positive connotations in much of research and political debate. This is especially the case in the context of sustainable development, where civil society participation is frequently assumed to have a positive impact on sustainability-related policy outputs. This chapter argues that the generally positive perception of CSOs in sustainable development contexts is a function of the sectoral and/or utopian logics, which underlie most conceptualizations of civil society, and highlights the limitations of these logics. It postulates that an analytical and reflective perspective on CSOs requires their classification on the basis of a reconstructive analysis of interest representation with respect to a specific policy issue and cautions against too easily attributing certain normative values to so-called civil society actors and participation. The chapter supports this claim with an illustration of CSO participation in the German debate on extending the operating lifetime of nuclear power plants.

We are grateful for the superb assistance in analyzing the actor’s sustainability positions provided by Nils Berger. Camilla Kuckartz and Michael Pollok also provided excellent support in terms of literature and data research.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In the following, we use these terms synonymously.

  2. 2.

    Some critical studies, however, argue that the discursive legitimacy of CSOs results from their higher aptitude in political communication relative to parties and politicians rather than the attribution of positive values by the media (Frantz 2007; Heins 2008).

  3. 3.

    Of course, Rucht’s understanding of the “civility” of civil society also allows for civil disobedience as signals and means of democratic protest (Kleger 1994).

  4. 4.

    The Whitetail Ridge Hunt Club owns some 500 acres in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and is meant to represent small and local associations with no, limited, or potentially ambivalent environmental objectives.

  5. 5.

    Moreover, a different but interesting new research strand questions to what extent civil society as consumer society is willing and capable of addressing the real sustainability challenges (Bluedorn 2011; Fuchs 2013b).

  6. 6.

    For an analysis of power asymmetries between economic and civil society interests at the various levels of governance, see Fuchs 2005.

  7. 7.

    For a critical evaluation of the role allowed for civil society participation in the European constitutional process, see Geiger 2005.

  8. 8.

    See the research projects LITRES and Komma-P for ongoing research on this issue: http://www.uni-muenster.de/Fuchs/en/forschung/projekte/index.html.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Münster, Münster, Germany

    Christiane Frantz & Doris Fuchs

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  1. Christiane Frantz
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  2. Doris Fuchs
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Correspondence to Doris Fuchs .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, University of Münster, Münster, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

    Matthias Freise

  2. Department of Political Science, University of Münster, Münster, Germany

    Thorsten Hallmann

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Frantz, C., Fuchs, D. (2014). The Impact of Civil Society on Sustainable Development. In: Freise, M., Hallmann, T. (eds) Modernizing Democracy. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0485-3_7

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