While some civil society actors play a crucial role in enhancing and sustaining democracy in Europe, others contribute to undermining democratic institutions. With this distinction in mind, this project asks how the operation of civil society is regulated through legislation in Europe, and how these regulations could possibly be improved. It seeks to answer this question using data from five case studies (Germany, Georgia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the European Union) spanning different types of jurisdictions. So far, the primary focus of such regulation has been on tackling ‘foreign influence’. Yet regulatory models that fail to distinguish between democracy-enhancing and democracy-compromising actors could end up infringing on societal freedoms and pluralism. In this context, the project undertakes an exploration of existing civil society regulations and their compliance with international law, as well as their practical effects on civil society. Ultimately, it asks how a regulatory model that assesses the risks posed by civil society actors to the democratic order could work and attempts to develop it.

Within this project, Kostiantyn Fedorenko will be a postdoctoral researcher. He will contribute his regional knowledge, background in European studies, as well as experience in policy analysis and qualitative methods. In particular, he will lead the work package exploring the existing models of civil society regulation in the country cases, and will co-lead the work package exploring the effects of regulation on civil society via interviews with stakeholders. The project adds legal studies to the scope of research conducted at ZOiS, interweaving it with social studies.

• How do (supra-)national models regulate civil society? Do they distinguish between ‘democracy-enhancing’ and ‘democracy-compromising’ civil society, and if so, which criteria do they use?
• Do existing civil society regulatory models comply with relevant international and regional law, particularly concerning freedom of expression and freedom of association?
• What are the effects of regulation on civil society?
• Would a risk-based model for civil society regulation be effective, feasible, and/or desirable? What would such a model look like?

• Inductive doctrinal mapping of existing civil society regulations in the country cases and comparison with relevant international law standards
• Qualitative interviews with stakeholders, including policymakers, NGOs affected by regulation, and experts from academia
• Development of an alternative risk-based regulatory model grounded in an awareness of civil society’s impact on democratic transformation

The project is funded by the Volkswagen Foundation as part of the funding programme ‘Transformational Knowledge on Democracies under Change – Transdisciplinary Perspectives’. ZOiS Director Prof. Gwendolyn Sasse is involved in the project as co-principal investigator.