The NGOization of Brazilian Civil Society and Implications for Civic Participation in Emerging Economies

Michelle Reddy Stanford PhD candidate in Education proposes: While civil society has been praised for its ability to shift the balance of social and political power away from the state, often omnipresent in societies transitioning to democracy, does the “NGOization” of civil society eventually lead local and national NGOs to become less politicized, and more concerned with public policy? Specialization and increased demands for monitoring, evaluation, and accountability lead NGOs to attract more middle class professionals to its ranks rather than the prototypical activist that swelled the ranks of civil society during democratization movements. The professionalization of civil society organizations leads to more specialized, service-oriented activities and local capacity, but may signal a move away from grassroots social movements, and towards relationships with state institutions and public officials through the institutionalization of civil society as noted by Vuković (2015) regarding Serbia, and da Glória Gohn(2010) with reference to Brazil.