For someone who is not familiar with the subject, what is the current democratic situation in that region now?
– The countries in the Western Balkans, despite initial democratization efforts, have remained hybrid regimes, and some of them experienced notable authoritarian revival in the past decade. Clientelism, corruption and polarized political sphere characterizes all countries in the region. The legal environment for civil society operation is largely favorable, however, CSOs have experience smear campaigns by politicians negatively affecting their public image and they continuously struggle with their financial sustainability.
What is most urgent when it comes to strengthening civil society organizations, to focus on institutional democratic effects or on individual democratic effects?
– A lot of effort has been put into making institutions more inclusive of CSOs in the process of decision making. The EU integration process has enabled a relatively more open opportunity structure for CSOs influence on national level, yet there are deficiencies when it comes to transparency, timely publication of consultations and fast-track decision making on politically sensitive issues. The ability of CSOs to aggregate and transmit constituencies interests has not been sufficiently developed and building links with citizens should be a priority for CSOs, as this will improve CSOs legitimacy in the eyes of the public and policymakers.
Should the EU and other donors focus on supporting politically or socially oriented civil society organizations in the region?
– The EU and other donors should continue supporting capacity building programs for both socially and politically oriented CSOs in the Balkan countries. Socially oriented CSOs are particularly important as they address day-to-day needs of communities and help maintain social networks on a local level, which can be mobilized in times of need, contributing to social cohesion and resilience. The chapter finds, against expectations, that socially oriented CSOs have less capacity to involve members, hence contributing less to individual democratic effects. Donors can do more to support the organizational capacity of these types of CSOs.
The democratic potential of politically and socially oriented CSOs: The case of North Macedonia
By Milka Ivanovska Hadjievska
Abstract
The chapter investigates the democratic potential of politically and socially oriented civil society organizations (CSOs) to engage citizens and articulate citizens’ interests in the policymaking process in North Macedonia. To do so, the chapter reports on the responses of CSOs to a survey which sought information on the extent to which organizations involve members in organizational activities and internal decision-making processes. The survey also enquired about the engagement of the respondent CSOs in different types of political activities. Based on the interest group and civil society literature, and the specific conditions for CSOs in a small state like North Macedonia, politically oriented groups are more likely to contribute to institutional democratic effects, while socially oriented CSOs are more likely to contribute to individual democratic effects. The results of the survey show that even though politically oriented CSOs comprise a smaller section of the population, they have greater democratic potential than socially oriented CSOs, possibly because the latter have fewer funds and human resources at their disposal. This suggests that the long-term investment by the European Union and foreign donors in CSO development in North Macedonia had a positive impact on the organizational capacities of politically oriented CSOs and on their democratic potential.
Chapter: The democratic potential of politically and socially oriented CSOs
Book: Handbook of Civil Society and Social Movements in Small States