NGOs under Pressure in Partial Democracies

Chris van der Borgh is an associate professor at the Centre for Conflict Studies, Utrecht University, The Netherlands.   Carolijn Terwindt holds a doctorate from Columbia University, USA. She is currently a legal advisor at the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights in Berlin, Germany.

'This useful, timely study goes beyond the headline of 'civil society backlash' to provide a fine-grained examination of the pressures that civil society organizations are facing in partial democracies. The nuanced analysis sheds light not just on the types of pressures that civil society organizations are facing but why such pressures are arising and how affected organizations are responding to them.' Thomas Carothers, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington, DC, USA 'This book is an indispensable tool for human rights organizations in Mexico. The authors' analysis offers us an objective perspective on the real violence confronting civil society organizations in different parts of the world and, most importantly, it offers us keys to reveal and expose this violence and respond strategically to the pressures imposed by powerful actors.' Alejandra Ancheita, Founder and Executive Director of ProDESC (The Project of Economic Cultural and Social Rights), Mexico 'This convincing and thorough analysis shows that the way civil society organizations are affected by the restrictions varies depending on their areas of work, and therefore the strategies and methods of the organizations to adapt and continue their work vary too. It will be of great interest to other organizations working in a comparable environment.' Dr Julia Duchrow, Head of the Human Rights and Peace Desk, Bread for the World, Germany

• Introduction PART I: PRESSURES ON CIVIL SOCIETY IN PARTIAL DEMOCRACIES 1. Introduction 2. Partly Free, Partly Democratic? 3. Civil Society Organizations and Arenas of Contention 4. Partial Democracy and Pressures on Civil Society: Tentative Explanations PART II: POLITICAL SPACE OF NGOS 5. Introduction 6. NGOs, Political Space and Pressures 7. Pressures on Political Space: an Overview 8. Explaining Pressures on NGOs 9. Research Methodology PART III: NATIONAL CONTEXTS: PARTIAL DEMOCRATIZATION AND CIVIL SOCIETY 10. Introduction 11. Guatemala 12. Honduras 13. Philippines 14. Indonesia 15. Conclusion PART IV: POLITICAL SPACE UNDER PRESSURE: TRENDS AND PATTERNS 16. Promotion of Sensitive Rights 17. Promotion of Truth, Good Governance and the Rule of Law 18. Claiming Natural Resources 19. Contesting Regime Legitimacy 20. Insecurity 21. Conclusion PART V: DEFENDING, CLAIMING AND NEGOTIATING POLITICAL SPACE 22. Introduction 23. Responses: an overview 24. Defensive responses 25. Proactive responses 26. Conclusion Conclusion Annex Bibliography