The brief below examines several institutional options for civil society and independent media support, based of a research on democratization and foreign assistance to Romania over the past 35 years, with a slight regional perspective (Three Decades of Civil Society: the Ups and Downs of Promoting Democracy in Romania, available here). The finalization of our report in late 2024 and early 2025 coincided with momentous changes in foreign policy from the US towards Europe and Russia, major shifts in US assistance for democratization globally, as well as radical developments concerning the rise of the far right populism not only in Romania, but also across the entire European continent. Some of the recommendations we developed with Romania in focus under the new set of circumstances can be scaled up at European level. Pan-European actions focused on support to civil society and independent media are needed to preserve and strengthen liberal democracy in Europe in general. We note there is a new momentum in European discussions concerning how the EU could step in to compensate for US virtually abandoning its traditional stewardship on matters of democratization via assistance to civil society and media, both inside the EU and in its immediate neighborhood (Western Balkans, Eastern Partnership). The Romanian experience with democratization in the past 35 years, where support from US and EU has been vital and probably the key driver, provides a starting point to discern what has worked and what has been less successful. Most importantly, it provides insights into how foreign assistance – from funding of civil society to conditionality-pushed reforms in the administration – could lead to the emergence of sustainable liberal democratic institutions, strongly anchored in local realities and practices, and resilient to the anti-liberal current today.
Read the full report here