Charity, politics and the culture wars

Abstract:Debates about the legitimacy of different kinds of civil society action have increasingly come to be framed in the language of ‘culture wars’, and this is contributing to the closing down of space for civil society in the UK. The focus of the article is on restrictions being experienced by the charity sector, while drawing out the implications for other parts of civil society. A recent example is the National Trust, which in 2020 faced censure for publishing a report on the historical links between its properties and slavery and colonialism. In this case, as in others, although the culture-wars framing was novel, there were continuities with longstanding debates over the legitimate space for civil society action, often discussed in terms of the obligations on charities to avoid being ‘political’. Specific modes of discipline across a range of legal frameworks are described, with a more detailed account of how these dynamics have affected Muslim civil society since the launch of the War on Terror, especially through Prevent. The article contributes to academic and activist debates about the best ways to organise to achieve progressive ends in an increasingly hostile and authoritarian political context.