What's New

News and updates from BCSDN and the region

Civic Activism Unleashed: New Hope or False Dawn for Democracy?

One of the signal events in global politics in the last decade has been the transformation of political and civic activism. Not only is the new activism qualitatively different in character from what it was in 2000; its intensity and frequency have dramatically increased. Activists are developing a new type of civic movement, applying innovative

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BCSDN Is Hiring a Communications Officer!

The Balkan Civil Society Development Network is looking for a vibrant and creative individual to join our team in the Executive Office based in Skopje, Macedonia, in the capacity of a Communications Officer. The Communications Officer should have a strong interest and passion for civil society as well as knowledge and interest of regional civil society

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EU Commission Advances Procedure against Hungary over NGO Law

The Hungarian government might soon be taken to the European Court of Justice if it does not address outstanding issues around the so-called NGO law. The Hungarian government has 60 days to reply to the concerns the European Commission brought up related to the so-called NGO law. The bill, referred to as the “Stop Soros

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Corruption Perceptions Index 2018

The index, which ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and business people, uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. More than two-thirds of countries score below 50 on this year’s CPI, with an average score

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Democracy Index 2018

The eleventh edition of the Democracy Index reveals that political participation is on the rise in almost every region of the world. Whilst clearly disillusioned with formal political institutions, the population has turned anger into action, and turned out to vote, and to protest. The most striking advance has been in the participation of women

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Evaluation of the EU’s Engagement with Civil Society in the Enlargement, Neighbourhood regions and Russia over the period 2007-2018

Landell Mills Limited (UK) is conducting an evaluation on behalf of DG NEAR of the European Commission, of the ‘EU’s engagement with Civil Society in the enlargement, neighbourhood regions and Russia over the period 2007-2018.’ As part of the evaluation, Landell Mills Limited requests feedback from individuals affiliated with the civil society sphere located in

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How to Reverse the Trend of State Capture in the Western Balkans

The European Union has recently noted elements of state capture in the entire region of the Western Balkans. The term ‘state capture’ implies a state of widespread corruption in which the Government and public institutions are used, both through legal and illegal channels, to pump out public resources for private gain. The European Union has

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BiH: Open Call for Members in the Advisory Body of the Council of Ministers for Cooperation with NGOs

The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 25 September 2018 adopted the Decision on the Establishment of the Advisory Body of the Council of Ministers for Cooperation with Non-Governmental Organizations. The Advisory Body has five members that can be representatives of NGOs, academia, media and individuals with experience in developing, monitoring and implementing public

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Albania: Reconsidering the Role of Civil Society and Religious Authorities in Building Community Resilience

The proliferation of terrorist groups has turned violent extremism (VE) into a crucial concern in international politics. In facing this problem, states have advanced their national capacities and international actors have contributed to states’ efforts by financing state and non-state actors working in the process of countering VE. Similar to its neighbouring Western Balkan (WB)

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