Roles of Citizen or 'Civil Society' and Responsibility of State

Abstract

Citizen and Civil Society have many historical meanings -from classics over modern legal or political philosophies up to today. They took new aspects in the situation after the end of cold war. The concept 'Civil Society' played a central role to encourage and orient movements of world-wide democratization. Globalization is an important moment of these movements. As transnational moves of people, information, goods, and money gave impact on the development of new 'civil society'. These try to control global governances, which are oft under the strong influence of economical globalization, on issues as human rights protect, prohibit or restriction of use of normal weapons, ecology etc. These activities of international NGOs are examples of new 'Civil Society'. But civil societies are so different in their scales and issues-regional. national and international. They can be crossing of them. Analyzing many phases of this relationship, from private life to international relationship, from the legal and philosophical point of view is the aim of this annual conference. These new 'Civil Societies' do not necessarily opposite to states, but mediate between citizens and states informally. They don't simply speak for interests of citizens itself, but act on (international) public opinions or their own ideas. Therefore they can opposite to 'citizens' sometimes. This means independence of civil societies from up and down. Because the activities of civil society relate to influent on law-making or legal/ moral consciousness, they make a sense to problematic of legal philosophy, as discussions about validity of law: it is situated in cooperation or tension between competence of law and its content, authority and idea. Civil society should be not only independent but also accountable both to citizens (clients) and to state. End purpose of its activities is empowerment of citizens, after all of disable or weak one. State is responsible to support these citizen-support-activities of civil societies (NPO. NGO etc.). Legal and political institutionalization of this role-division is necessary to establish and stabilize the adequate relation among citizen, civil society and state.