Media, Advocacy, and the Public Interest

Abstract

The roles played by advocacy groups and the media in engaging governments as long-term partners are at once important and problematic. While some governments are progressive and happy to include alternative views, others eschew consultations. This study of civil society and state disaccord in three country contexts of the southern African region interrogates the non-governmental partners' roles at critical junctures. Partnerships between state and non-state actors are buffeted by geo-political dynamics and economic reversals that have rattled the post-liberation project in three countries. This chapter explores how a multi-sectoral oversight of key policy initiatives might avert the possibility of political expediency impinging on the imperatives of good governance and economic stability. The chapter incorporates conversations that ensued during a two-day inclusive democracy for sustainable development conference in Windhoek, Namibia, attended by government and civil society actors. It also draws on desk research and personal observations.