CIVIL SOCIETY-ITS ROLE IN GOOD GOVERNANCE: PARTICIPATION, ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY

For over two decades now, the process of globalization has been influencing the socio-economic environment in countries. While globalization provides new opportunities for economic development to countries through trade liberalization, foreign direct investment, capital flows, information exchange and technological transfer, it has meant increased deprivation for those nations which have been unable to adjust to the new requirement of global society. Thus on one hand while we witness rapid economic growth and prosperity in some regions, there are more than a billion people who continue to live in poverty with purchasing power of less than a dollar a day. In the poorest countries, about one fifth of the children die in the first year of their birth, nearly half of those who survive fare malnourished and a significant proportion of the population does not have access to clear water, sanitation, basic health services and education. This paper identifies the significance of Civil Society, impediments to the growth of civil society in developing countries and its role in good governance.