Research question/goal:

The project investigates the relationship of developments in the NGO sector in Central and Eastern Europe to democratization processes and examines in particular how external actors have helped or hindered the potentially democratizing influence of NGOs in four Central and Eastern European countries. Through the selection of countries and external actors to be analyzed, we pursue the hypothesis that EU-proximate countries have an NGO sector more capable of contributing to the consolidation of democracy than those further removed from the EU accession process. The project thus explores two of the issues highlighted by research on transition in Central and Eastern Europe in recent years: the role of civil society (here in the form of the NGO sector) and the impact of the international dimension.