The Egyptian Civil Society Organisations Role in Public Policy-making Process: Lessons from the Brazilian Experience

Abstract

This paper looks at civil society organizations (CSOs) as an important tool to enable community participation needed for the public policy process. In addition to its importance as a means of developing both democratic practices and public policies, especially social policies, as well as its role in shaping the relationship between state and society, Utilizing qualitative methods, the paper focuses on the role of informal actors, and in particular civil society organizations, in the processes of public policy making in Egypt and Brazil, and especially in the formulation of policy. The authors also examined the nature of the relationship between the state and CSOs, and explored the question of whether or not there is a space for Egyptian and Brazilian CSOs to play an active role in the public policy making process, or whether they are primarily tools that government used to achieve its goals. This research observed the performance of CSOs in Egypt and Brazil in recent years and findings showed that, in comparison to Brazil, there are many obstacles that undermine the effective contribution of civil society organisations in the different stages of the process of policy-making which hinder its ability to influence public policies in Egypt.

Keywords:Civil Society – public Policy Making in Egypt and Brazil – Central State – Civil Institutions