The promise of a flourishing, vibrant and democracy-committed civil society has emerged as a posited panacea in ongoing peacebuilding, democratisation and development assistance over the past three decades. As for sub-Saharan African post-conflict states, however, the local context and understanding of civil society remains often unaddressed. By and large, civil society has become an uncontested idea(l). This article argues that a classical Western liberal-individualist model of civil society is continuously challenged by the cultural and historical particularisms of states in the sub-Saharan African region. Settled modes of thinking in peacebuilding and development research and practice have to take into account local characteristics that are already part of, and grounded in, existing and historically rooted experiences.

While the term civil society is frequently used in academic writings and development discourses, there is a tendency to conflate different and potentially conflicting meanings of the concept. This article uses a historical analysis of Nicaragua to develop a more useful understanding of civil society. Nicaragua has undergone dramatic political changes over the past 35 years, including significant changes to its civil society. I argue that assumptions of civil societys value orientation must be discarded; that boundaries between civil society and the state are neither fixed nor absolute; and that development cooperation has important structuring effects for civil society in aid-dependent countries.

However, there is little publicly available evidence about this phenomenon and its impact on both INGOs and their civil society partners. Drawing on data gathered through participatory research and exchange with INGOs based in several European countries, this article highlights the range of countries and regions affected by aid exit, some reasons behind withdrawal, approaches taken, and various challenges and dilemmas that INGOs face. It questions the contradiction between a desire amongst INGOs to learn from others about exit strategies, and the lack of accessible documentation and data made available by INGOs about their own experiences for others to use.

The recent drives for implementation of results-based management and human rights-based approaches in international development have increased pressures to improve and modify monitoring and evaluation systems in CSOs. On the basis of an analysis of two Finnish civil society organisations (CSOs) committed to participation and empowerment, the article examines dilemmas in practical efforts to develop new approaches to meet the variety of needs. In this context, the ethical, methodological and managerial perspectives on knowledge creation in CSOs are identified and the dilemmas in knowledge practices related to monitoring and evaluation are examined.