Chile CSI Report: Executive Summary. Downloadable in pdf [31KB].
Chile CSI Report: Full Report. Downloadable in pdf [779MB].
Project Evaluation for Chile: Executive Summary. Downloadable in pdf [44.6 KB]

Chile: The Associational Reconstruction of a Nation

The report was produced by the CIVICUS CSI and its country partner, Fundación Soles. The Chilean Civil Society Diamond depicts a balanced and relatively strong state of civil society. The structure dimension is relatively strong as a significant part of the population takes part in non-partisan political actions and community actions. The main weaknesses are civil society’s lacking human and technological resources, capacity of self-regulation and CSOs’ difficulty to generate international linkages.

Similarly, the environment in which it operates is somewhat enabling although some weaknesses remain as for instance considering the legal environment and the relations with the private sector. In general, though, the socioeconomic context, the respect of rule of law and basic freedoms/rights render the Chilean environment rather conducive for civil society.

The values dimension was featured as the strongest of the four dimensions and demonstrating that CSOs are generally committed to promoting and practicing some key values in society, while the impact of civil society is considered moderate, mainly due to the limited capacity of CSOs to influence public policy and to holding the state and private sector accountable. In more general terms, one key element that characterises civil society in Chile is the sector’s duality between the more and the less structured organisations, notably between non governmental organisations (NGOs) and a broader community-based associational network.

These two sectors of organised civil society are often on opposite ends of the spectrum, particularly in terms of policy impact and collective action.