Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN)

2012
Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN)

Abstract: International donor involvement in the Western Balkans began two decades ago in response to the rapid and often violent transitions in the region from authoritarian socialist regimes to states gradually developing political and economic systems similar to their neighbours in Western Europe. During this period, there have been attempts in every country to co-ordinate the activities of international donor agencies and host country governments, including civil society support. However, as in other sectors, there is a gap in the substantive participation of local stakeholders, i.e. civil society organisations (CSOs) and other actors in shaping priorities for civil society development (CSDev) in their countries. With donor activities gradually directed to other parts of the world, compounded by the global financial crisis, and local apathy and distrust of CSOs, CSDev in the Western Balkans has become particularly challenging. While general studies1 on donor strategies and practices in civil society development exist, there is no overarching study till this day looking at donor strategies and practices in CSDev in the Balkans. At this critical time, it is important to take stock of the past and current strategies, practices and priorities of international donors to provide an accurate regional description of donor-led CSDev in the region, to identify lessons learnt and not learnt, and to suggest ways to improve the current situation to foster long-term sustainability of the civil society sector in the Western Balkans.

Keyword(s): Donors ; CSOs ; Balkans ; EU ; Strategies ; Practices ; Priorities