STRENGTHENING STRENGTHENING CIVIL SOCIETY CIVIL SOCIETY GLOBALLY GLOBALLY 2018 CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATION SUSTAINABILITY INDEX CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE AND EURASIA 22nd EDITION – SEPTEMBER 2019 2018 CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATION SUSTAINABILITY INDEX FOR CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE AND EURASIA 22nd EDITION - SEPTEMBER 2019 Developed by: United States Agency for International Development Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance In Partnership With: FHI 360 International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) Acknowledgment: This publication was made possible through support provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under Cooperative Agreement No. AID-OAA-LA-17- 00003. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed herein are those of the panelists and other project researchers and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or FHI 360. Cover Photo: Empowering Kosovo Youth through Critical Thinking Workshop titled "Point of View." This critical thinking and writing workshop gathered around fifty young men and women from both urban and rural areas in Kosovo in order to bring attention to youth concerns and promote youth engagement in the public sphere. This specific activity focused on the identification of youth needs and priorities. Photo Credit: USAID/Kosovo TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD ............................................................................................................................................................................................ i INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................................................. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................................................................................................... iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................................................................... 1 2018 CSO SUSTAINABILITY INDEX Albania ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 11 Armenia .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 20 Azerbaijan .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 30 Belarus ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 39 Bosnia and Herzegovina ................................................................................................................................................................. 49 Bulgaria ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 58 Croatia ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 67 Czech Republic ................................................................................................................................................................................. 77 Estonia ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 86 Georgia ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 94 Hungary ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 102 Kosovo ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 112 Latvia ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 121 Lithuania .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 130 Moldova ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 140 Montenegro .................................................................................................................................................................................... 150 North Macedonia .......................................................................................................................................................................... 159 Poland............................................................................................................................................................................................... 168 Romania ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 178 Russia ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 188 Serbia ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 200 Slovakia ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 210 Slovenia ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 219 Ukraine ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 229 ANNEX A: CSO SUSTAINABILITY INDEX METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................... 238 ANNEX B: STATISTICAL DATA .................................................................................................................................................. 253 ANNEX C: REGIONAL MAP ......................................................................................................................................................... 256 The 2018 CSO Sustainability Index for Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia FOREWORD The Great Polarization The trend of democratic backsliding and the conflicts it has caused between government authorities and civil society has been noted in these reports for several years now. In recent years, we increasingly have seen society itself being divided along hard lines, with individuals and organizations who once would have classified themselves as competitors or political rivals in the context of a pluralistic system now viewing their opponents as mortal enemies. We see this “great polarization” occurring rapidly in several countries featured in this edition of the CSO Sustainability Index, including Hungary, Poland, and Romania, to name a few. These societies are becoming increasingly fragmented into two enemy camps with very little common ground between them, and virtually no room for dialogue or compromise. These processes of political polarization are increasingly being mirrored in new cracks, divisions, and friction within the civil society community itself, as highlighted in the Executive Summary that follows. In some countries, civil society as a whole has fractured along political lines. This breakdown of political pluralism cannot but worry those of us concerned not only with the survival of democracy but also the preservation of liberal values, including dialogue and compromise. Civil society is naturally a community divided by different groups’ interests, by varied worldviews, and different conceptions on how to best organize society. However, despite their political and social differences, CSOs must unite for the common good of their countries, including by respecting those whose conception of that common good differs from their own. As the great Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said, “the line between good and evil does not separate neighbor from neighbor, or country from country, but goes straight through a human heart!” Michael Kott Director, Civil Society and Peacebuilding FHI 360 The 2018 CSO Sustainability Index for Central and Eastern