Invitation to the IPW Lecture EU Enlargement and Civil Society in the Western Balkans
Lecturer: Natasha Wunsch (ETH Zürich)
Moderation: Titus Udrea (University of Vienna)
When: Thursday, 23. May 2019, 16:45
Where: Hörsaal 34, main building of the University of Vienna, Universitätsring 1, 1010 1010 Vienna
Abstract:
The talk discusses civil society empowerment in the context of the EU enlargement process. Building on extensive fieldwork, it compares NGO mobilisation around rule of law issues in Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia. Moving beyond the traditional focus on the top-down impact of EU support, it demonstrates NGOs' agency and analyses their shifting strategies throughout the membership negotiations. At the same time, it cautions against overestimating the potential for civil society empowerment in a context of shrinking space for NGOs and declining democratic standards in the Western Balkans.
An event within the IPW Lectures, an international lecture series of the Department for Political Science, University of Vienna.
