To manipulate and legitimise

Government Officials Explain Why Non-Democracies Enact and Enforce Permissive Civil Society Laws

Bibliographic Data

ID6253380
AuthorsAnthony J Demattee (0000-0001-7946-7831, Data Scientist, Democracy Program, The Carter Center, Atlanta, GA, USA, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume30
Issue8
Pages1476-1502
Publication date2023-11-17
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueDemocratization (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1351-0347 • E-ISSN: 1743-890X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13510347.2023.2242789
OpenAlexW4386690407
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited30

Civil society is a bulwark against autocratic rule; its erosion contributes to democratic recession worldwide. Scholars and activists are calling attention to repressive laws non-democratic governments enact to undermine civil society organizations (CSOs). Yet, non-democratic governments do not only enact repressive laws; they also enact permissive, quasi-democratic legal rules. Evidence from case studies suggests that non-democratic governments enact such rules as part of a broader strategy to stabilize the regime. This article adds a within-case comparative study of Kenya’s four CSO regulators to the growing evidence showing that non-democracies can choose to manipulate civil society rather than repress it. The government’s words and documentation provide evidence: I triangulate elite interviews with elected officials and bureaucrats with archival data from government libraries and four CSO regulators. I find that the government enacts permissive legal rules and then uses several control and consultation tactics collectively, separately, and episodically to manipulate CSOs and legitimise the regime

Civil society · Government (linguistics · Law and economics · Permissive · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Law · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Social Policy and Reform Studies

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