The research project is funded by the National Science Center (NCN) in Poland and conducted by the Ph. Dorota Pietrzyk-Reeves from the Department of Political Philosophy at the Institute of Political Science and International Relations at Jagiellonian University in Krakow. In collaboration with:
- Patrice McMahon (University of Nebraska-Lincoln, US)
- Paula Pickering (College of William and Mary, US)
- Lisa Sundstrom (University of British Columbia, Canada)
- Paulina Pospieszna (Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland)
The project challenges the thesis on the “weakness of civil society in Central and Eastern Europe” (Howard 2003) by presenting viable theoretical and methodological tools for assessing the “weakness” or strength of civic development in the region. To achieve this, the project focuses on civil society conditions in three aspects: 1) its political and advocacy role and, more broadly, its impact upon democratization and democratic consolidation in CEE countries; 2) varied forms and levels of civic participation, the spheres of civic activity, civic empowerment; and 3) the attitudes of citizens across CEE towards civil society organizations and civic activities. The research is aimed at studying public opinion and attitudes toward civil society in Central and Eastern Europe. Existing surveys, however, suggest that at least some of the public is disillusioned, disinterested, if not downright dissatisfied with civil society organizations. What explains this level of distrust and these attitudes?
The project deals with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, which have different relations with the European Union and different stages of democratization and democratic consolidation. We will analyze in depth some of the current challenges to civil society development, which will include not only new government/legal restrictions, but also perceptions of civil society across the region, which have been influenced by political culture, levels of participation, social capital and civic education. A key objective of the project is to use new theoretical concepts and new research materials to try to reconceptualize the relationship between civil society, democracy and democratization.
