Future of Civil Society

Few developments in the recent history of Central Europe have been more momentous than the emergence, or more precisely the re-emergence, of civil society, of organized citizen activity outside the boundaries of the state and the market. Indeed, the re-emergence of civil society was the key to all the other momentous developments that have characterized the extraordinary past two decades of Central European history - the fall of the Berlin Wall, the disintegration of the Soviet empire, the re-emergence of the market, the appearance of democratic government, and now the re-integration of Europe. More than that, the re-emergence of civil society in Central Europe has revolutionized the position of civil society on the world stage more generally, boosting its visibility, enhancing its credibility, and transforming its repu tation from that of ineffectual supplicant to powerful instrument of social, economic, and political change. Despite its achievements, however, the Central European civil society sector remains, at least in its Visegnid segments, a fragile organism, under capitalized, under-staffed, and still not fully integrated into the prevailing political and economic order. It is as if these countries have not yet decided how to reconcile their new civil society institutions with their recent history of extensive state provision of social welfare services, not to mention their earlier rich histories of civil society organization and voluntary action. Indeed, this earlier history has been largely lost from view.