Civil society is not an innocent invention that come out of nowhere. It is the product of an intellectual and historical system, which reflects the formation process of the modern state in the West, and its vision of the role of individuals and groups. With the rise of liberal globalization, this concept was adapted and re-employed as a tool of soft power, through which the priorities of other societies are restructured, and their values are reshaped according to pre-determined frameworks. This reconfiguration became particularly evident in the Arab countries, where NGO entered, supported by substantial funding and pre-constructed discourses, at times becoming an extension of foreign projects that converge on a fundamental objective, which is the redefinition of the relationship between the state and society in a way that achieves hegemony in its most seamless and sustainable form.
Hence, the research into these organizations does not stem from a fundamental hostility to the idea of civil organization. Rather, it is a desire to restore the authentic effectiveness of this field and liberate it from value-based and functional dependency. The real questions, which should be raised, concern the system of interests, values, and powers operating behind the shiny facade of organizations that claim neutrality and humanity.
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