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the sake of its initial formation then for the sake of its coherence and stability over time”
(Walzer 1995, 1). Yet, a democratic civil society itself is a product of the democratic state
(ibid, 24). Non-governmental organizations promote open societies, open economies, and
democratization; yet, they themselves benefit and are the products of open societies, open
technologies, and open economies (Cusimano 2000). The democratization process itself
encourages the creation and spread of NGOs. A thorough theoretical analysis must then
determine the nature (causal vs. constitutive) and direction of relationships between
global civil society and democratization. If some degree of dependence between global
civil society and the extent of democratization of global politics is detected, a theory must
specify whether the former is a necessary or sufficient condition for the latter. In the 20
th
century, civil society coexisted with very different types of regime – including fascism in
Italy and Germany. Therefore, the mere existence and strength of civil society are
inadequate explanations of democracy and democratization (Törnquist 1998, 110-111).
There is also ambiguity on the importance of the economy in a theoretical framework of
democratizing politics of global civil society.
An interesting line of theorizing is about when and why the agents of global civil
society become subject to influences of state actors, i.e., when NGOs themselves become
shaped by the “beyond the state” view of global policy-making leading to structural and
functional isomorphism of state and non-state agents. Finally, the paradigm suggesting
that the deepening of global civil society promotes democratization of global politics sets
aside relations of power within global civil society itself. The assumption of equality of
the citizens within global networks and citizens’ associations in global civil society
would not pass a reality check and have to be reconsidered.
Democratizing Role of NGOs, the Agents of Global Civil Society: From
Concepts and Theory to Empirical Evidence
Is there enough empirical evidence to assume the existence of global civil society? Is
the assumption of a positive link between global civil society and democratization of
world politics empirically validated? The skeptics of global civil society condemn it with
the grave misrepresentation of the contemporary world arguing that it is merely “a
projection of our desires” (Reiff 1999, 1) and a normative ideal that the advocates of
global civil society tend to mistake for an observable empirical phenomenon (Howell and
Pearce 2000, 76-77). The proponents of global civil society see it as existing alongside
other social and political institutions and structures within the broader realm of global
politics (Lipschutz 1992; Wapner 1995). I examine a vast body of empirical findings to
find out whether a democratizing role of the agents of global civil society is more than an
article of faith.
A number of writers have undertaken to corroborate the emergence of global civil
society empirically routinely using the expansion of the population of NGOs as one of the
empirical indicators of the growth (Smith 1998; Wapner 1995; Willetts 1996). Although
the counts of NGOs vary, scholars agree that the number of NGOs in the global system is
steadily increasing.
53
Furthermore, scholars have documented the rise of global civil
53
The Union of International Association tracking the numbers of NGOs listed 18,323 traditional
international NGOs in 2002 and 28,775 special NGOs (such as religious organizations) resulting in a total
Convention