BHUTANESE CONTEXT OF CIVIL SOCIETY.pdfVIP

BHUTANESE CONTEXT OF CIVIL SOCIETY Karma Galay ∗ Introduction Civil society is an issue of great interest, and a topic of important theoretical and political discussion, in many parts of the world, both more developed and less developed. The issue concerns that public space in society which is occupied by neither state or church, nor by their organs, in which open and independent conversation about society and culture can take place and in which citizens can organise social movements, voluntary organizations, popular organizations, and citizens bodies. The conversation in the space provided civil society concerns the state, the society, the culture, the nature of responsibility and citizenship. The organizations of civil society endeavour to protect the individual living in the society and to provide safety, stability and the opportunity to act independently of the state or church and their institutions. Where public space and civil society exist, it is the arena in which the society and culture also define the institutions and procedures of market or determine the degree to which extra-market forces, such as state or custom, will govern the market. Finally, civil society, public space, is the arena in which the institutions of cooperation and trust among the people and the ability of communities to organise themselves for common purposes, outside the control of state or church, exist. The accumulation of such institutions, trust, and ability constitutes the social capital, which is a crucial factor that makes civil society to exist and function effectively. Some aspects of civil society in Bhutan will be discussed in this paper