Promoting Civil Society Across the Borders of the EU Neighbourhood

Debates, Constraints and Opportunities

Bibliographic Data

ID3948723
AuthorsLiam O''Dowd, Liam O'Dowd, Liam O’dowd (Queen's University Belfast, corresponding author), Bohdana Dimitrovova (Radboud University Nijmegen)
Year2011
Volume16
Issue1
Pages176-192
Publication date2011-01-31
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeopolitics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1465-0045 • E-ISSN: 1557-3028
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14650045.2010.493784
OpenAlexW2037934938
LanguageEN
Citations received7

One of the aims of this article it to clarify the nature of the debate over ‘civil society’ and its relationship to the state. It begins by suggesting that the EU's borderland provides a context in which deep-rooted ‘Western’ and ‘Eastern’ understandings of state and civil society meet and overlap. The second section outlines the geo-political reshaping of the ‘Neighbourhood’. It concentrates on the influence of non-EU actors, notably Russia, complementing the EU-focused literature on the subject. The third section elaborates the consensus in the literature on the weakness of civil society in the EU ‘Neighbourhood’. This is followed by a discussion of ‘Western’ debates over the role and significance of civil society. This discussion suggests that the ‘export’ of a Western model eastwards begs many questions about which particular model is to be promoted. It concludes that the precise characteristics of state-civil society relationship remains central to the prospects for enhancing civil society co-operation

Civil society · Geography · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · European Union Policy and Governance · Law