Civil Society in Post-Communist Eastern Europe and Eurasia: A Cross-National Analysis of Micro- and Macro-Factors

摘要

In the democratization process of post-Communist Eastern Europe and Eurasia, civil society development is an important focus for both foreign donors and scholars. This paper utilizes USAID's "NGO Sustainability Index for Eastern Europe and Eurasia"-the first attempt at compiling comparative data on civil society growth for all post-Communist countries-in a statistical analysis of structural factors and aggregates-of-individuals characteristics argued to support a functioning civil society. I discussthis first attempt at generating data that stands to move the field from intricate knowledge of a few conventional cases to broad comparisons that allow us to think systematically about these countries' common experience with Communism. Then, in the statistical analysis section, I argue that both structural and individual factors matter for the development of civil society in the post-Communist context.