AZE.US
The traditional model of externally funded civil society is losing its influence as governments increasingly rely on sanctions, digital platforms and artificial intelligence to shape political and public behavior, Azerbaijani economist and politician Natig Jafarli has argued.
As AZE.US reports, Jafarli shared his assessment in a Facebook post examining what he described as the decline of the grant-dependent civil society model and the emergence of new opportunities for more organic civic organizations.
Jafarli said civil society remains an essential institution in any functioning country. It provides public oversight of government agencies and allows citizens to influence political decisions outside election periods.
However, he argued that civic organizations can only serve this role effectively when they emerge naturally from society and are supported directly by the communities and interest groups they represent.
“Civil society should not be a source of income. It should primarily be based on volunteer work,” Jafarli wrote.
According to him, citizens should be willing to contribute their own time and resources to causes they consider important. Organizations built on this principle, he said, are more likely to work in the interests of both society and the state.
Jafarli argued that the concept of civil society changed significantly over the past 30 to 35 years. Numerous foundations and nongovernmental organizations were created and gradually became instruments of soft power for major states.
In his view, international NGO networks were often used to influence domestic political processes in other countries. At the same time, civil society activity became a profession for some participants, offering salaries, international travel, conferences and access to grant funding.
Jafarli also pointed to changes in U.S. policy toward foreign assistance and international civic organizations.
He stressed that the shift should not be viewed solely as a policy of President Donald Trump, but as part of a broader change in the United States’ approach to influence abroad. He cited the dismantling of USAID in its previous form as one sign of that transformation.
Jafarli said expectations that the old grant system would automatically return after Trump leaves office are unrealistic.
“The myth that Trump will leave and everything will return to the old days must be abandoned,” he wrote.
For years, he said, the United States and European countries used grants, seminars, conferences, workshops and training programs to create networks of influence. By making civil society organizations financially dependent on external donors, governments were able to promote their own political priorities.
According to Jafarli, those expensive networks are no longer as necessary because technology now offers cheaper and more effective ways to influence public opinion.
He identified social media platforms and artificial intelligence as the main tools of the emerging system.
“Artificial intelligence can do almost for free what a thousand NGOs tried to do inefficiently for millions of dollars,” Jafarli said. “It directly influences the formation of our views and worldview, and this is only the beginning.”
He argued that governments can now be pressured through sanctions, restrictions, tariffs and other economic measures, while societies are increasingly shaped through the internet, algorithms and digital platforms.
Jafarli said this does not mean civil society itself will disappear.
Instead, he believes the collapse of the old financing model may allow civic organizations to become more independent, locally rooted and sustainable.
Such organizations, he said, should operate without grant dependency, corruption or the promise of foreign travel.
Jafarli also argued that civil society should not be limited to politics and human rights advocacy. In countries with functioning elections, courts and independent media, he said, other institutions should already provide mechanisms for addressing those issues.
Civil society should also bring together people with shared professional, cultural and social interests, including book lovers, bakers, taxi drivers, environmental activists, cyclists and hiking groups.
These communities, he said, should create their own organizations and learn to invest their own time and money in practical projects.
Jafarli applied the same principle to politics and journalism.
People who want independent media should be prepared to pay for the reporting and content they value, he said. Those who support political organizations should also be willing to volunteer rather than expecting outside donors to finance political participation.
“This is the path,” Jafarli concluded. “There will be no other one.”
AZE.US