What's New

News and updates from BCSDN and the region

Rule of Law and Democracy in The Western Balkans: Addressing The Gap Between Policies and Practice Published

Three decades since the beginning of democratization processes, the Western Balkan countries have built a democratic façade by holding elections, by promulgating legal acts guaranteeing freedom of expression, or by constitutionally declaring a strict system of checks and balances. In reality, however, political elites rely on informal structures, clientelism, and control of the media to

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Tools and Methods of CSO Participation in Public Policy Making: Overview of Good Practices in Crotia, Estonia and France Report Published

Prepared within the scope of Monitoring and Enhancing the Enabling Environment for Civil Society Project financed by the EU, BCSDN’ s member from Turkey, TUSEV published a report that includes a detailed analysis of public sector-CSO cooperation in Croatia, Estonia, and France with specific references to the types of mechanisms used or the principles adopted.

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EIU: Another Bad Year for Global Democracy, But Protests Show Potential For Renewal

The index assessed 167 countries on the basis of five categories: electoral process and pluralism; the functioning of government; political participation; political culture; and civil liberties. Most Western European countries were considered full democracies, with Norway scoring the highest worldwide, while most Eastern European nations were considered flawed democracies or “hybrid” regimes. The Democracy Index

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Social Mobilization Beyond Ethnicity Published

The book offers an in-depth investigation of the emergence and spread of social mobilizations that transcend ethnicity in societies violently divided along ethno-national lines. Using BiH as a case study, the book explores episodes of mobilization which have superseded ethno-nationalist cleavages. Marked by citizen demand for accountable governance, responsive urbanism, and access to basic human

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Transfer of Knowledge: Learnt Lessons from The Global Standard of Accountability Self-Assessment Exercise, a MCIC session to the Macedonian CSOs

On 31 January 2020 in its premises, BCSDN’s member, the Macedonian Centre for International Cooperation (MCIC) held a meeting on Lessons learnt and knowledge gained from The Global Standard of Accountability Self-Assessment Exercise. On the meeting, the CSO grantees had an opportunity to to get acquainted with the Global Standard Dynamic Accountability work, and to

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Accountability is in Everybody’s Interest, Published

The publication highlights the importance of not only top-down but bottom-up and lateral accountability for humanitarian organizations and CSOs. The articles in this issue cover a broad range of subthemes related to accountability and depict how it can lead to social innovation, resilience, sustainability of development outcomes and community ownership. The publication also introduces the

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Creating a Diagnostic to Fund Civil Society Self-Reliance: Challenges and Lessons

As international donor funding recedes, CSOs in resource poor environments have struggled to remain financially viable. Over-reliance on a single or limited number of donors impedes CSOs’ ability to advocate for causes that are meaningful to their constituents and to act independently on initiatives which they value. To help address this challenge, a Domestic Resource

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Trust-Based Philanthropy

Philanthropy has a power problem because too often, foundations get in the way of nonprofits doing the work they know best. This can slow down progress, perpetuate inefficiency, and obstruct nonprofit growth and innovation. Infused by core values of power sharing, equity, humility, transparency, curiosity, and collaboration, Trust-Based Philanthropy believes that donor’s work will be

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