There are many studies on civil society and social movements, but none specifically deal with small states as a peculiar category of countries. As is well known, small states have particular characteristics, including a limited ability to reap the benefits of economies of scale, a high degree of exposure to forces outside their control, and the proximity of politicians to the voters, often leading to clientelistic relationships and patronage networks. The chapter dedicated to North Macedonia overviews 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 their democratic potential. Read more here.
Source: Taylor Francis
