Actions by governments around the world to restrict space for civil society have continued to multiply. Drawing on her new report, Civil Society Under Assault: Repression and Responses in Russia, Egypt, and Ethiopia, Saskia Brechenmacher examined three key aspects of this phenomenon: 1) the variety of tactics used by governments to weaken civil society; 2) the manifold effects of such campaigns on local civil society actors; and 3) the struggle for effective international responses.
Mariam Afrasiabi and Douglas Rutzen provided comments, and Thomas Carothers moderated.
Saskia Brechenmacher
Saskia Brechenmacher is an associate fellow in Carnegie’s Democracy and Rule of Law Program.
Mariam Afrasiabi
Mariam Afrasiabi is senior civil society adviser at the United States Agency for International Development.
Douglas Rutzen
Douglas Rutzen is president and CEO of the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law.
Thomas Carothers
Thomas Carothers is vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.