The Role of Civil Society in National Education Policy in the Global South
Date: January 2024
Author(s): Abrehet Gebremedhin and Naomi Hossain
Publication type: ARC Accountability Brief
Published by: Accountability Research Center
Despite the prominence of civil society advocacy on education since the 1990s, there is limited consensus about the nature of its role in shaping national policies in the global South.
Changes in civic space in the past decade are likely to have altered the terms of civil society engagement in education policy.
This Accountability Brief, based on a literature review, takes stock of the evidence about how past civic action has shaped education policy, to understand the possible impacts on policymaking should space for civil society advocacy on education be restricted in the future.
Abrehet Gebremedhin is a researcher at the Accountability Research Center and a PhD candidate at the School of International Service at American University in Washington, D.C. Her academic research centers on monitoring and evaluation, civil society engagement in education and health, transnational aid for education, and youth mobilization.
Naomi Hossain is a political sociologist and Professor at SOAS University of London. Her research focuses on the politics of inclusive development, or how people get the public services they need. In international collaborations, she has researched food and fuel riots, the politics of public service delivery, closing civic space, and the politics of Bangladesh’s development success. Some of her work can be seen here.
