Civic driven change in West Asia

Tags: Civil Society Building
Additional tags: West Asia, Citizens agency

What can an organisation like Hivos do in repressive regimes like Iran and Syria? Does Civic Driven Change (CDC) offer opportunities or new insights for developing strategies in those countries? These are the questions Maaike van Adrichem poses in her research paper on Hivos programme in Syria and Iran: From civil society building to civic driven change?

Repression by the regimes in Syria and Iran make it extremely difficult to operate for civil society and human rights defenders. In this hostile environment the ‘common’ strategy of civil society building, supporting civil society organisations with funding and skills, is almost impossible. The natural allies of Hivos -secular, non-governmental organisations- are hard to come by.

Looking at development from a CDC perspective, offers new points of view and possible strategies for Hivos. CDC entails a new approach to civic activism. There is a move from seeing the individual as a rights-bearing citizen that needs collective action to claim its rights, to seeing him or her as a development agent that takes action by themselves. These self-empowered agents of change do not necessarily function within institutionalised NGO’s, but rather operate in informal organisations or even individually.

The informal sector is very important in Iranian and Syrian society, and includes gatherings of family, friends and colleagues where politics and the state of society are discussed. This sector also includes the many informal discussions and activism that takes place online on webpages, blogs, twitter and fora. Support of an external actor like Hivos in sustaining and stimulating discussion in these informal sectors, requires new strategies, focussing on network building and knowledge sharing instead of financial support.

A CDC approach to strategy setting in Syria and Iran requires small-scale and flexible activities. The efficiency of CDC, especially in non-democratic states where all civic activism is looked upon with suspicion, will be lower and the costs associated with it will be higher. However, it seems Hivos is willing to take on this challenge. A CDC approach will require a new way of working with an emphasis on establishing contacts, gaining trust and framing a network with different actors striving for change. Furthermore, this approach will require a clear vision on what CDC entails and how it can be incorporated into the policy and practice of Hivos.

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