Civil Society, Good Governance, and Anti-Corruption Initiatives The Case of Bangladesh

Abstract

This paper discussed about the civil society organization, dominant liberal views regarding the role of civil society organizations in  promoting good governance and reducing corruption, the analyses of the alternative views regarding civil society organizations' role in ensuring good governance, curbing corruption, and the challenges civil society organizations face in reducing corruption in the  context of Bangladesh. The civil society organizations, although they have played critical roles in various political transitions in  Bangladesh, are now weak, politicized, and coopted by the state. The civil society’s capacity to act against corruption depends on the nature of the state, a balance of power between the state and civil society organizations, and accountability, legitimacy,  representation, and trust in civil society organizations in the broader society they are working, which are absent at this moment in Bangladesh.