The Indispensable Lifeline is Fraying: Civil Society at a Crossroads
Civil society in the Western Balkans (WB) is currently at a critical juncture. While independent organizations remain vital actors for democratic accountability and rights protection, their very survival is becoming precarious. Political hostility, smear campaigns, and restrictive laws are eroding the space in which CSOs operate, and domestic funding is scarce or politically manipulated. In this climate, international assistance remains the indispensable lifeline for independent organizations.
The new report from the Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN), Donor Support, Civic Space, and the Future of Civil Society in the Western Balkans, captures a turning point: a shifting donor landscape where financial volatility threatens to undo decades of democratic progress. The report, based on documents, quantitative data, and interviews with seven major bilateral and multilateral donors, urges a fundamental rethinking of how democracy support is resourced in the region.
A Fragile Donor Landscape: Contraction, Centralization, and Shock
The research identifies three major trends destabilizing the civic sector:
- The Shock of Withdrawal
The abrupt suspension of US foreign assistance in early 2025—which halted over $120 million in active programs in the region—exposed the sector’s deep overreliance on a few large donors. This shock triggered mass layoffs, stalled initiatives, and, critically, emboldened governments that used the event to intensify pressure and smear campaigns, weakening public trust in NGOs.
- Shifting European Priorities
European donors face their own constraints, with resources increasingly redirected toward Ukraine, migration, and security. This means funding for democracy and human rights is often treated as a short-term expense rather than a long-term investment. Overall, bilateral donors are retrenching or narrowing their portfolios, leading to a medium-term scenario (2026–2028) of contraction and fragmentation.
- The Centralization Trap
The European Union (EU) is currently the anchor donor, providing the largest and most stable financial envelope through IPA III. However, the report highlights that its procedures remain heavily project-based and centrally managed. This misalignment between Brussels and field offices, coupled with limited capacities, reduces the ability to adapt programming locally and provides little of the core, flexible support that CSOs desperately need. This reliance on short funding cycles and international intermediaries ultimately shifts civil society from mission-driven advocacy to donor-driven delivery.
The Path Forward: Five Urgent Recommendations for Donors
The BCSDN report concludes that democratic progress in the Western Balkans depends on a strong, independent civil society. To keep credibility and protect civic space, donors need to change how they provide funding, not just increase the amount.
The report puts forth five key recommendations:
- Expand Flexible and Core Support: Donors must scale up multi-annual core grants and trust-based partnerships. This modality has been proven to be the most effective in sustaining watchdog roles, building constituencies, and withstanding political pressure.
- Empower Local Intermediaries: Shift support from large international implementers to trusted regional or national re-grantors. This enhances local ownership and cost-effectiveness, and ensures outreach to smaller grassroots groups outside capital cities.
- Coordinate and Plan Responsibly: Establish structured, transparent donor-coordination platforms to align timelines, share risk, and collectively plan responsible exit strategies. This is crucial to prevent the destabilization of the sector seen recently.
- Integrate Protection and Rapid Response: Embed small, flexible emergency funds into donor portfolios to safeguard activists and human-rights defenders against physical, digital, and legal threats (like SLAPPs).
- Safeguard Civic Space and Independence: Condition assistance on clear civic-space benchmarks and actively avoid channeling funds to Government-Organized NGOs (GONGOs) or partisan proxies, which distort public dialogue.
Conclusion: A Call to Resilience and Action
Donor contraction, centralization, and risk aversion are not merely administrative challenges—they are political ones. If the current trajectory persists, external assistance risks losing legitimacy with citizens, leaving democracy without its essential defenders.
The choice is stark: either reinforce dependency and fragility, or build the sustainable, citizen-rooted, and resilient civil societies that are essential for democratic anchoring in the Western Balkans. As members of the European Civic Forum, we urge all funders and institutions to utilize the BCSDN findings to align their practices with the OECD DAC principles and invest strategically in the autonomy and resilience of our partners in the region.