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Tag: civil society

From Bologna to Kutaisi: Georgia’s university “reform” undermines its European path

Higher education in Georgia has long been viewed as an integral part of the country’s European integration. Despite this, new reforms proposed by Georgian Dream threaten not only these connections but the very independence of the system itself.

December 23, 2025 - Giorgi Odoshashvili Nino Dolidze Tamar Gamkrelidze

Civil society in Ukraine: a sled dog, not a watchdog

In order to truly understand Ukraine, and particularly in wartime, it is necessary to look at the role of the extensive civil society that has emerged since the country's independence.

November 3, 2025 - Valerii Pekar

There is still time to pressure Georgian authorities

The Georgian Dream government is still sensitive to international pressure. It is still acting as though international legitimacy is important and responding to international monitoring and reporting. But this window will close and the international community will lose some of its leverage. This is the moment to apply maximal pressure.

October 2, 2025 - Dave Elseroad

High-time for a new opening: Poland and the Russian civil society

The most recent unprecedented Russian drone attack against Poland confirmed that Putin’s Russia represents the most important threat to Polish security. This situation requires from Poland a much bigger engagement with the Russian civil society. This new opening should be launched by the Polish third sector.

September 30, 2025 - Adam Balcer

Resistance, resilience, recovery: Ukraine’s civil society in wartime

Since gaining independence in 1991, Ukraine’s civil society has grown into one of the most vibrant and resilient in the region, playing a central role in shaping the country’s democratic path and pro-European identity. Throughout this time, citizens have mobilized in defence of human rights, sovereignty and political accountability. This civic strength became essential in responding to Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 and this is still true today.

September 27, 2025 - Liza Bezvershenko

Georgian civil society forced into survival mode

After decades of striving for independence and democratic reform, Georgia is now facing a reversal towards authoritarianism. The ruling Georgian Dream party, mimicking the Kremlin, initiated controversial laws in an accelerated manner to legalize its repressions over independent voices of society. The elimination of independent media outlets, grassroots movements, non-governmental organizations, professional unions, and activists has now become the priority for the Russian-backed government.

September 27, 2025 - Nino Lezhava

Can Belarusian civil society survive and even pose a threat to the dictatorship?

Since August 2020, Belarusian civil society has been experiencing a crackdown from the Alyaksandr Lukashenka regime that has been unprecedented in the 21st century. After widespread peaceful protests, the authorities launched a systematic extermination of all civil initiatives and NGOs without taking into consideration their political involvement. However, this did not prevent Belarusian civil society from not only existing, but developing in various forms, sometimes in ways completely surprising.

September 27, 2025 - Zmicier Mickievič

Democracy in Moldova: can civil society deliver?

Moldova is still navigating a complex path towards democratization, shaped by political instability, economic hardship, and institutional fragility. In this process, the Moldovan civil society plays a significant role, though its influence has often been limited by a combination of internal barriers, such as corruption, weak democratic institutions, overdependence on international funding, and fragility to external threats.

September 27, 2025 - Alexandru Fordea

Strengthening the civil society’s resilience in Serbia

Despite growing authoritarianism and a shrinking civic space in Serbia, civil society has demonstrated remarkable resilience through grassroots environmental movements, student protests, and citizens’ assemblies. These forms of activism have expanded locally and transnationally, mobilizing citizens, especially the youth, to demand accountability and democratic reforms.

September 27, 2025 - Sofija Popović

Civil society in Armenia: from peak to decline in advocacy

Faced with rising populism, polarization, socio-economic challenges, and mounting geopolitical pressure, Armenia’s civil society remains one of the key pillars of the country’s democratic resilience. Having evolved from fragmented local initiatives into a relatively mature and thematically diverse institutional sector, NGOs are entitled to play a significant role in shaping public discourse, monitoring state reforms, protecting vulnerable groups, and developing expert capacity. At the same time, the sector faces serious and growing challenges.

September 27, 2025 - Arshaluis Mgdesyan

Silenced by law: how Azerbaijan uses legislation to crush dissent

Despite early efforts towards civil society formation following independence, serious setbacks have been observed in Azerbaijan in recent decades. Restrictive legislation on the activities of NGOs, strict limitations on foreign donors to operate within the country, the de facto restriction of freedom of assembly, and pressure on independent media have all had a negative impact on organized and independent civic activism in the country.

September 27, 2025 - Zumrud Pashayeva

European support for Russian civil society as the key to a safer continent

Last week’s Czech Eastern Policy 2025 conference highlighted, for the third time this year, the need for stronger support for Russian civil society and other pro-democracy voices both inside and outside Russia. This time, it called for a strategic reframing of our relationship with Russia, for a definitive disavowal of Putin’s regime and for refusing any form of normalizing in our relationship with it, moving instead towards a partnership with pro-democratic circles and independent civil society in the broadest sense. In doing so, it emphasized the need for a more robust approach to this agenda, and a unified approach among all European countries.

September 20, 2025 - Pavel Havlíček

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