Civil Society and Democracy Promotion

Through compelling contributions from experts on democratization, this volume analyzes the impact and importance of civil society development and external civil society promotion on democracy promotion in post-socialist Eastern Europe. Looking specifically at countries with a failed or deficient process of democratic consolidation, where civil society is viewed as a substitute or complement to democracy promotion in government, the contributors explore the problems and unintended consequences of external democracy promotion on civil society development. The theoretical contributions analyze roles civil society play for democratization and how democracy promotion can support or undermine these roles. The empirical contributions cover a wide range of civil society actors and current developments in various Eastern European countries.

Professor Dr. Timm Beichelt is Professor of European Studies at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany.

Irene Hahn-Fuhr is affiliated to the European University Viadrina, Germany and the research programme External Democracy Promotion and Civil Society in Post-Socialist Europe run in cooperation with the ETH Zurich.

Frank Schimmelfennig is Professor of European Politics at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, and member of the Center for Comparative and International Studies.

Susann Worschech graduated in Social Sciences from Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin, Germany. With her current PhD research at the European University Viadrina, she analyzes network patterns and strategies through which external donors support civil actors in Ukraine.