Editorial - The implications of September 11 for civil society around the world

The world will never be the same again – or so people everywhere were saying in the weeks following the September 11 terrorist attacks. How will this affect civil society? How will civil society organizations respond to the challenges posed by this new world – if it really is one? This special issue of Alliance tries to give some answers to these questions.

It includes articles on civil society in Afghanistan, Central Asia, Palestine, and the Arab world more widely. Alliance’s first ever email roundtable brings together views from all around the world. It also has articles on how the US non-profit sector has been affected, and on corporate giving since September 11. Finally, there are articles looking at particular issues like the effects on CSOs of anti-terrorist measures and how to support civil society in hostile environments.

Cumulatively, some of these contributions are repetitive – for example, reports from three conferences on the future of Afghanistan held in Bonn, Brussels and Islamabad. Any attempt to avoid this repetition would be almost a distortion of the truth. If people from different countries with such different experiences are all saying the same things, their message needs to be heard. The lesson that seems to emerge is that the international community gets the same things wrong again and again. One thing that seems clear is that international agencies must work more with existing CSOs if efforts to build a sustainable civil society are to be effective.

The cost of rebuilding Afghanistan is estimated at $15 billion over ten years. International aid donors promised the first tranche of $4.5 billion at a meeting in Tokyo on 20-21 January. How well will this money be spent? Afghanistan could be the chance to get it right for once. I hope this issue of Alliance can make some small contribution to achieving this.

Caroline Hartnell
Editor, Alliance