THE FAILING FINANCING OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA¹

Abstract

This chapter focuses on an often ignored dimension of the growing discussion on the shrinking of civic spaces, namely the way it affects (and is affected by) the availability of resources. Taking into account the donor landscape and shifts in funding paradigms, the chapter singles out four factors as contributing to the financial ‘choking off’ of civil society, and specifically advocacy and rights-based organisations in Southeast Asia: greater government control of funding streams for civil society organisations (CSOs); the reshaping of international aid spending globally and regionally; paradigmatic shifts in philanthropic giving; and scarce appreciation of civil society and advocacy work among local donors. As a result of the interplay of these factors, civil society in Southeast Asia is losing its conventional backers, without finding the same level of support among alternative donors, at the cost of its ability to fulfil a critical and transformative role.