ABSTRACT
The term ‘civil society’, sometimes translated into Bengali as shushil shamaj which literally means ‘gentle society’, is increasingly prominent in public debate in Bangladesh. Articles regularly appear in the newspapers debating the possible importance, meanings and roles of civil society. The government now speaks, from time to time, of a need for consultations ‘with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society’ and a Government/ NGO Consultative Council was established in the mid-1990s as a committee to build better relationships between government and NGOs. Behind the scenes, the international development agencies have pushed the idea of civil society as part of ‘good governance’ agendas. This chapter briefly discusses the concept of civil society in relation to Bangladeshi politics and development, taking a historical perspective in order to distinguish both ‘old’ and ‘new’ civil society forms and processes.
