Civil society and good governance

Civil society is a democratizing force of public action with an unquestionable intent towards common good. It comprises of organizations and individual actors that are not agencies of the government and not motivated by profit. On the other hand, Governance is the process by which a society manages itself through the mechanism of the state. Good governance is efficient decision making that proves beneficial for a majority of the people while having minimum or zero detrimental consequences. The core ingredients of good governance are people's effective participation, transparency, responsiveness, consensus orientation, the rule of law, effectiveness and efficiency, accountability and strategic vision. This paper analyses the role and significance of civil society in good governance. It can maintain good governance, by policy analysis and advocacy; by regulation and monitoring of state performance and the action and behavior of public officials; third, by building social capital and enabling citizens to identify and articulate their values, beliefs, civic norms and democratic practices and so on. But it is also found that civil society as a whole is, unable to play its full potential role in enforcing good governance in India and other developing countries. Civil society, therefore, has to operate through compact, focused organizations based on strong social capital.