Chapter 4 Civil Society and Social

Movements
At the end of this chapter, the student must be able to:
1. Discuss the concepts of civil society and social movements
2. Explain the contributions of civil society organizations and social
movements to Philippine democracy.
3. Evaluate the role of civil society organizations and social
movements.

Political Socialization

Political socialization is the "process by which individuals learn and

frequently internalize a political lens framing their perceptions of how power is arranged
and how the world around them is (and should be) organized; those perceptions, in
turn, shape and define individuals' definitions of who they are and how they should
behave in the political and economic institutions in which they live." Political
socialization also encompasses the way in which people acquire values and opinions
that shape their political stance and ideology: it is a "study of the developmental
processes by which people of all ages and adolescents acquire political cognition,
attitudes, and behaviors." It refers to a learning process by which norms and behaviors
acceptable to a well running political system are transmitted from one generation to
another. It is through the performance of this function that individuals are inducted into
the political culture and their orientations towards political objects are formed. Schools,
media, and the state have a major influence in this process.

Agents of Political Socialization

1. Family - Our first political ideas are shaped within the family. Parents seldom "talk
politics" with their young children directly, but casual remarks made around the dinner
table or while helping with homework can have an impact. Family tradition is
particularly a factor in party identification, as indicated by the phrases lifelong
Republican and lifelong Democrat. The family may be losing its power as an agent of
socialization, however, as institutions take over more of child care and parents perform
less of it.

2. Schools - Children are introduced to elections and voting when they choose class
officers, and the more sophisticated elections in high school and college teach the
rudiments of campaigning. Political facts are learned through courses in American
history and government, and schools, at their best, encourage students to critically
examine government institutions. Schools themselves are involved in politics; issues
such as curriculum reform, funding, and government support for private schools often
spark a debate that involves students, teachers, parents, and the larger community.

3. Peer groups - Although peer pressure certainly affects teenagers' lifestyles, it is

less evident in developing their political values. Exceptions are issues that directly affect
them, such as the Vietnam War during the 1960s. Later, if peers are defined in terms of
occupation, then the group does exert an influence on how its members think
politically. For example, professionals such as teachers or bankers often have similar
political opinions, particularly on matters related to their careers.
4. Mass media - Much of our political information comes from the mass media:
newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and the Internet. The amount of time the
average American family watches TV makes it the dominant information source,
particularly with the expansion of 24-hour all-news cable channels. Not only does
television help shape public opinion by providing news and analysis, but its
entertainment programming addresses important contemporary issues that are in the
political arena, such as drug use, abortion, and crime. The growth of the Internet is also
significant; not only do essentially all-news outlets have their own Web sites, but online
bloggers present a broad range of political opinion, information, and analysis.

5. Government – the government itself is an agent of socialization. Many government

activities are intended to explain or display the government to the public, always
designed to build to support and loyalty. However, government attempts at overt
socialization generally fail if their values are at odds with those of the family.

6. Religion – religious group s gransmits definite political preferences to their

practitioner. Churches help develop strong belief systems that guide a persons view on
social policies such as abortion as well as a larger world view. Political beliefs among
religions vary. Traditionally, Roman Catholics and Jews have been characterized as
being more liberal and Protestants more conservative.
Civil Society
Civil society - refers to the space for collective action around shared interests,
purposes and values, generally distinct from government and commercial for-profit
actors. Civil society includes charities, development NGOs, community groups, women's
organizations, faith-based organizations, professional associations, trade unions, social
movements, coalitions and advocacy groups. However civil society is not homogeneous
and the boundaries between civil society and government or civil society and
commercial actors can be blurred. There is certainly no one 'civil society' view, and civil
society actors need to contend with similar issues of representativeness and legitimacy
as those of other representatives and advocates.

The Importance of Civil Societies

Civil society organizations engage in advocating the public’s rights and wishes of the
people, including but not limited to health, environment and economic rights. They
fulfill important duties of checks and balances in democracies, they are able to influence
the government and hold it accountable. Therefore, free and active civil societies are an
indicator of a healthy participatory democracy.
However, they can only function where freedom of speech and right of free assembly
are guaranteed. Unfortunately, this is not the case in many countries around the world.

Characteristic of Civil Society

Civil society is, for its part, characterized by citizens' spontaneity and activeness,
participation and doing, public utility and autonomy, voluntariness and optionality,
laymanship and professionalism, flexibility and independence, communality and locality,
ethics and solidarity.

Local and International Organizations

An international organization (intergovernmental organization) is an organization

established by a treaty or other instrument governed by international law and
possessing its own international legal personality, such as the United Nations, the World
Health Organization and NATO. International organizations are composed of
 primarily Member states, but may also include other entities, such as other international
organizations. Additionally, entities (including states) may hold observer status.

Purpose of International Organization

The role of international organizations is helping to set the international agenda,

mediating political bargaining, providing a place for political initiatives and acting as
catalysts for the coalition- formation. They facilitate cooperation and coordination
among member nations.

List of International Organizations 1

• Bank for International Settlements (BIS)

• European Central Bank (ECB)
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
• International Labour Organization (ILO)
• International Monetary Fund (IMF)
• International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
• Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
• Paris 21 (P21)
• Statistical Office of the European Union (EUROSTAT)
• United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
• United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)
• United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)
• United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
• United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC)
• United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA)
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
• United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)
• United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
• United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD)
• World Bank (WB)
• World Health Organization (WHO)
• World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
• World Trade Organization (WTO)

Local Organizations

IBON Foundation
IBON Foundation is a research-education-information and advocacy
organization committed to serve the marginalized sectors. They
seek to contribute to people’s empowerment by generating and

1
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collecting socio-economic data and analyses, and disseminate these in the Philippines
and abroad.

Habitat for Humanity Philippines (HFHP)

A non-profit Christian ministry working to help build responsible and self-reliant
communities by enabling Filipino families in need to acquire affordable, decent, and
durable homes.

Philippine Red Cross

The PRC provides six major services: Blood Services, Disaster
Management Services, Safety Services, Community Health and
Nursing Services, Social Services and the Volunteer Services.

Haribon Foundation
Protecting Nature.Protecting Life. Committed to nature
conservation through community empowerment, and scientific
excellence.

Philippine Animal Welfare Society

A volunteer-based organization working towards protection of
animals from cruelty through education, sheltering and advocacy.

World Vision Philippines

Improving the lives of more than 120,000 children in the

Philippines, World Vision aims to help Filipino youth through
health and nutrition, child participation, education, livelihood,
disaster response, and values formation. It is a Christian humanitarian org that helps
children, families and communities to alleviate poverty and social injustices.

Influence of Civil Society and Social Movements

Social movement - is a loosely organized effort by a large group of people to achieve

a particular goal, typically a social or political one. This may be to carry out, resist or
undo a social change. It is a type of group action and may involve individuals,
organizations or both.
Stages of Social Movements

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Types of Social Movements

• revolutionary social movements: Revolutionary movement is a specific type

of social movement dedicated to carrying out revolutionary reforms and gain
some control of the state. If they do not aim for an exclusive control, they are
not revolutionary.
• reformative social movements: A reformative social movement advocates for
minor changes instead of radical changes. For example, revolutionary
movements can scale down their demands and agree to share powers with
others, becoming a political party.
• redemptive social movements: A redemptive social movement is radical in
scope but focused on the individual.