Return to Literature on Third Sector Research

1. Return to Literature on Third Sector Research

3. Poster Presentation Dr. Peter Herrmann Non Governmental Organisatins as Part of Democratic Policy Making – The Current Debate For the First Conference of the Irish Third Sector Research Network AVARI Association for Voluntary Action Research in Ireland Dublin, May 1997

11. The Challenge • How can and do NGOs emerge as politically influential forces which • (a) secure the influence of the immediate social interests ("the people's needs") • (b) without organising themselves as centralised, bureaucratised entities respectively loosing the advantages of decentralised flexible work • (c) finally by continuing to safeguard the democratic principle instead of orienting on group egoism (question of "representation" respectively "legitimation")

12. Proposed/Discussed Solutions Consultation Status: this would afford an opportunity to make submissions, to formally present and promote these in discussions with the negotiating parties and to be kept informed in a general way on developments in the negotiations Participation Status: this would be an intermediate stage between (i) and (iii) below; it would involve a strengthened role beyond that under stage (i), with the parties involved having the opportunity to more actively promote their interests and, by implication, fuller account would be taken of their views in the negotiation process; this might also be extended to providing a facility to comment on draft negotiating texts, particularly from an equality proofing perspective Full Negotiation Status this would mean that the new parties to the negotiations would have the same status as the traditional Social Partner (The National Economic and Social Forum: Post-PCW-Negotiations - A new deal?; Forum Opinion No. 4; Dublin; August 1996: 40)

14. Questions for an alternative route I • So it is necessary to build at least additionally (besides negotiations) on public action. This means as well that the actors have to legitimise their challenges in a twofold way: • + in the statutory bargaining process • + in the view of the public opinion. • Given by Michael Mann we have to understand power as matter of an interstital process. • In general Western European societies claim that power is a matter of the people. • Given by Max Weber power is defined as opportunity to succeed in getting something done against the will of others.

15. Questions for an alternative route II • This characterisation of power means not least that the political character of implementation has to be seen more seriously as part of the overall political process. • There is some doubt that the process of modernisation follows just the principel of a zero sum game. So power is according the guidelines of rational action mainly a process of co-operation. The foundation of such a guideline for action can be established by avoiding the externalisation of costs in processes of bargaining. Not least this means that definitely all interests have to be involved directly - even if this may have the consequence of minimising the immediate capacity to act.

16. Questions for an alternative route III • DEMOCRACY • Democracy is - without any doubt - a matter of the institutional structure of any society; this is a necessary but not a sufficient condition. • Necessary as supplement is: • Democracy has to be seen as pattern of life and so it is a matter of societal structuration of of power with the three aspects as pointed out above. • SUBSIDIARITY • This means that subsidiarity has to be understood as means of empowerment: giving the social space for decision and action as well as giving the means to decide and to act.