The discussion opened with a recognition that civil society stands at a crossroads between shrinking civic space and untapped potential. “A call to action rather than a passive description.” This is how Inés described our publication. “By framing civil society as a possibility rather than an inevitability, you are acknowledging the fragility of democratic life. That collective freedom must be actively pursued, and could realise through organisation and mobilisation, but that we could also miss our chance.” To Inés, the title reflects this tension: hope that freedom is within reach, but recognition that it requires deliberate effort. 

Shrinking Civic Space 

So, what kind of power does civil society hold to create collective freedom? This question is urgent in a time of compounding crises such as climate breakdown, rising inequality, political polarisation, authoritarianism and shrinking funds. Civil society is also held back by a democratic deficit, where communities are excluded from decisions that shape their lives. It suffers from fragmentation and the difficulty of sustaining change, as movements flare up with courage but struggle to endure or translate mobilisation into lasting power. It is also weakened by unequal flows of power and resources, which leave those closest to the challenges with the least capacity to respond. At this moment, when civil society is both indispensable and under attack, the question of how it can realise its transformative potential could not be more pressing. 

Learning from History 

To understand the power of civil society, the publication examines historical moments where civil society grew powerful, became more autonomous and created possibilities for collective freedom. These include: 

• The German Workers Movement (mid-19th and early 20th centuries) 

• The Black Reconstruction Era in the USA (mid-19th century) 

• Anti-Colonial Liberation Movements (mid-20th century) 

• Cold War revolutions and NGOisation (late 20th century) 

A common thread across these examples is autonomy achieved through active participation and member-based resourcing. Today’s conditions are different, but the lesson endures: autonomy and collective organisation remain the foundation of durable civic power.  

Key Realisations 

First of all, civil society needs to foster shared urgency and aspiration. People contribute to collective causes when they feel a shared purpose. While crises like war or disaster create obvious urgency, the challenge is to generate the same urgency for chronic issues like inequality, climate change, systemic injustice, so civil society is seen not as optional, but essential.  

Secondly, civil society needs inclusive and mass-based organisation. Successful movements grow by drawing more people into meaningful roles: organising in communities, training leaders, sharing responsibility, and building broad coalitions across issues and identities. Without strong organisation, a movement of millions can quickly dissipate into a movement of a few once again. 

Lastly, we need to build translocal solidarity infrastructures. This refers to creating bridges across geographic and ideological divides so that civil society in different places can directly support one another, materially and intellectually, without always going through intermediary institutions. 

To achieve our goals and better serve our communities, we must strengthen the autonomy and interconnectedness of civil society worldwide and centre reparative approaches. If governments drift further apart from one another and away from their citizens, then civil society has to become more grassroots and globally (meaning translocally) connected. We envision not isolated local groups, but a resilient global network of solidarity where locally rooted actors are linked across distances. This emancipatory translocal civil society constitutes the living tissue of social transformation, capable of both resistance and creative worldmaking. 

The Role of Funders 

The discussion also turned to how civil society is resourced. Jesse Eaves emphasised that funders need to recognise the scale of the tectonic shifts underway in the international system and respond with equal ambition. Authoritarian actors are highly networked, adaptive, and strategic across sectors. To counter this, civil society must also be resourced to act in ways that are flexible, long term, and collaborative. In short, it must be enabled to fund to win. 

Current approaches, dominated by short-term and indicator-driven grants, are too limited. They leave organisations reactive and vulnerable, unable to sustain their power or evolve across sectors and boundaries. As Jesse warned: “We risk leaving our power at the door, and we put ourselves at the mercy of people who would harm many for the benefit of a few.” The alternative is resourcing that enables civil society to adapt, to connect, and to build infrastructures of solidarity that endure. With this kind of support, civil society can expand the spaces where people recognise and use their collective power.

Imagining a World Without Civil Society  

What would a world without a strong, independent civil society look like? From LGBTQI campaigners achieving decriminalisation of same-sex relations in Caribbean states to winning marriage equality from Greece to Thailand, civil society demonstrates its unique ability to push forward rights and protections that no other actor will deliver. It is also visible in grassroots movements advancing climate justice and in local struggles for accountability in the face of authoritarianism. The publication reminds us that when civil society is fragmented or aligned with the state and capital, power consolidates in the hands of elites and authoritarian actors, leaving little space for accountability or transformation. History shows that without independent organising, moments of protest quickly dissolve and alternatives to domination fail to take root. Civil society is not simply another sector among many. It is the space where ordinary people can resist, organise, and build futures that neither governments nor markets will provide. 

The launch reaffirmed that reclaiming civic power requires imagination, solidarity, and the shared will to build the infrastructures of collective freedom. 

You can read Civil Society as the Possibility for Collective Freedom here.