The openMovements series invites leading social scientists to share their research results and perspectives on contemporary social struggles.
Gdansk shipyard. Demotix/Elisabeth Blanchet. All rights reserved.A quarter of a century ago, huge demonstrations marked the fall of communism. The right to protest was the first natural consequence of regime change for the people of central and eastern Europe. However, the transition to democracy and a market economy also meant constant and organized public participation. The sooner the better.
In such an environment, sustained by a multitude of donors and foreign organizations, international NGOs engaged in extensive programmes with local civil societies. Assisting organizations and groups as examples and vehicles of democracy and civil society-building was the preferred approach of that time. As a result, in 1998 there were some 5,000 foundations and more than 20,000 associations in Poland alone. The support was duly rewarded, when we consider that a group of former communist countries joined the western organizations by the end of the 1990s, followed by a second group a decade later.
