Everyday activism: Civil society in Central and Eastern Europe 30 Years after Communism’s Collapse

May 12, 2022
  • May 12-13, 2022 (by invitation)
  • Location:
    Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies
    6331 Crescent Road
    Vancouver, BC

Prof. Lisa Sundstrom, Department of Political Science, leads a PWIAS International Research Roundtable on May 12-13, 2022. This Roundtable will explore the varieties of 21st century civil society activism in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). 

In an era of backsliding of democracy in many countries of the region, civil society activism looks different than it did during the immediate transition from Communist-party rule. Instead, today civil society actors are more often engaged in informal modes of activism that address concrete problems: what we call “everyday activism.” Participants in the workshop include international scholars who are experts on the CEE region, and experienced NGO activists and journalists from the region. The roundtable will engage in a wide-ranging discussion of the emerging qualities characterizing civil society groups and their relationship with democratic and authoritarian politics in the CEE region.

Roundtable participation is by invitation.

Public event: Join us on May 12 for an evening event in which invited civil society activists from the CEE region will discuss how civil society is reacting to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and how the war has affected the work of civil society groups in their countries of origin. More details here.

Photo by Tetiana Shyshkina (Unsplash)