Introduction: Civil Society and Multiple Transitions - Meanings, Actors and Effects

Transformation and Development

“…Consequently, common projects do not take place, or they do so only in exceptional cases. However, this does not apply to those NGOs that are focusing on human rights across the Western Balkans, as their aims cause them to be more open to regional cooperation with other civil society actors throughout the region, at least in most cases (Kostovicova and Bojicic-Dzelilovic 2013). Nevertheless, those NGOs engaged in programmes involving reconciliation and operating at the national level fall back into the domestic discourses of ethnic self-victimisation as a consequence of their politicisation.…”

“…However, over time, civil actors did not manage to become independent from international funding because of the poor economic situation of the area; thus, they had to keep relying on foreign funds in order to continue their activities. However, this brought about severe consequences as civil society started to reflect the interests of its supporters and growingly lost legitimacy in the eyes of local communities (Kostovicova and Bojicic-Dzelilovic 2013;Ostojić and Fagan 2014). Hence, the population progressively developed feelings of distrust towards civil society actors, especially NGOs, as their influence was perceived as foreign interference into domestic issues, and as locals did not feel that their interests were being truly protected by them.…”

“…In fact, an organisation is automatically linked to an ethnic group because of the place in which it was registered; thus, the chances of involving other ethnic groups are constrained as the ability of local civil society actors to prompt a wider debate at the national level (Žeravčić and Biščević 2009;Belloni 2019). Furthermore, as a consequence of the ethnicisation of advocacy groups in the region, the Western Balkans have seen over the years a rise in the amount of illiberal civil society organisations that are using conservative and ethno-nationalist arguments in order to resist the process of reconciliation to avoid recognising their share of the blame for the conflict (Kostovicova and Bojicic-Dzelilovic 2013;Džihić et al 2018;Belloni 2019).…”

Unintended consequences of state-building and the management of diversity in post-conflict Kosovo

“…Indeed, Kosovo represents a unique endeavor and a very ambitious case of state-building not only because of its internationally contested statehood (Ker-Lindsay 2009;Hehir 2010;Weller 2009), the circumstances of the 1999 war, and the subsequent international administration, but also because of the impact of the dual legacy of Communism and conflict. This paper, thus, explores why the literature on state-building in Kosovo has generally not been focusing enough on the role of endogenous factors (Kostovicova and Bojicic-Dzelilovic 2013).…”

Transitional Justice and Its Discontents: Socioeconomic Justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Limits of International Intervention

“…Incorporating socioeconomic justice concerns presents specific challenges in contexts characterised by multiple and overlapping transition processes (Kostovicova and Bojicic-Dzelilovic 2013), including the transition from war to peace and from socialism to market economy and liberal democracy, and a far-reaching international intervention encompassing all dimensions of these transition processes. Justice issues, therefore, cannot be seen in isolation from other aspects of such intervention.…”