| Chapter 1: | Jamaican Governance and Citizen Politics in Context |
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1994; Keane, 1988a). Typical examples include churches, charities, independent media, volunteer initiatives, lobby groups, interest groups, sports clubs, and fraternal, cultural, educational, and developmental organizations. In this regard, civil society denotes a society that is voluntarily organizing itself or citizens who are acting collectively in a public sphere—to exchange ideas, express interests, achieve mutual goals, make demands, or seek concessions from the state and hold political representatives accountable (Cohen & Arato, 1992; Deakin, 2001; Diamond, 1994; Keane, 1988a; Swift, 1999). Civil society is, then, for all intents and purposes, a good and positive development and hence eagerly embraced by everyone. It is crucial for political officials and ordinary citizens concerned with the quality of public life and social relations (Blunkett, 2001; Boyne, 2002; Buddan, 2003; Patterson, 1994; Robotham, 1998; C. Stone, 1992a);political theorists and empirical social scientists disturbed by the maladies of democracy, declining associational life, and social capital (B. Barber, 1984; B. R. Barber, 1998; Diamond, 1994; Etzioni, 1996; Munroe, 1999; Putnam, 1993, 1995, 2000; Shils, 1992); and development agencies (e.g., the United Nations and the World Bank) seeking accessible and structured organs through which to distribute aid and plan development projects.
Contemporary politics and political theory have thus predominantly focused on the virtues of civil society. Scholars such as Putnam (1993, 1995), for example, ignored the Marxian tradition, which reduces civil society to a sphere of self-interest, instrumentality, and conflict, and instead advocated a more Tocquevillean order which posits a kinder, gentler understanding of civil society in which bowling leagues, Boy Scout troops, and women’s groups are full (Boyd, 2004). Other scholars (Deakin, 2001; Robotham, 1998; Swift, 1999) have focused on the work of voluntary organizations and the impact of volunteerism in society, largely positioning civil society as a realm of civic generosity and citizenship where everyone is working towards a common good. These theorists are not alone. The civil rights movement and global student uprisings of the 1960s, the populist movements against the abuses of totalitarian regimes throughout Eastern Europe and Latin America in the late 1980s, and the