Thinking Democratically: A Comprehensive Approach to Countering and Preventing Shrinking Space
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from opposition <strong>and</strong> civil society with violence in the aftermath of peaceful elections in 2018, <strong>and</strong><br />
with a series of extremely violent crackdowns on protes<strong>to</strong>rs <strong>and</strong> internet shutdowns in January 2019.<br />
In El Salvador, the ownership of the majority of media platforms <strong>and</strong> channels lies in the h<strong>and</strong>s of a<br />
very small elite. Combined with physical <strong>and</strong> verbal aggression <strong>and</strong> intimidation against journalists,<br />
this effectively puts in place self-censorship mechanisms. Likewise, in Honduras journalists often<br />
face criminal prosecution for defamation <strong>and</strong> libel, which has a chilling effect on other journalists.<br />
Violent dispersion of peaceful protests by civil society have also deterred people in Kenya from<br />
exercising their freedom of assembly. In a number of European countries, activists <strong>and</strong> CSO staff<br />
defending minority group rights – particularly Roma <strong>and</strong> LGBTQI rights – have faced physical attacks<br />
<strong>and</strong> disruptions of their meetings. 39<br />
Another powerful political strategy <strong>to</strong> clamp down on CSOs is through smear campaigns <strong>and</strong> hateful<br />
narratives against civil society, as exemplified by the Kenyan case described above. This includes but<br />
goes beyond the adoption of “foreign agents” laws, as described above. For instance, a proposal for<br />
an own-initiative report by a German Christian Democrat Member of the European Parliament has<br />
called for much more moni<strong>to</strong>ring <strong>and</strong> restrictions on NGOs receiving EU funding, castigating NGOs as<br />
unaccountable lobbyists abusing EU funding. 40 While this was not passed, it amplified anti-pluralist<br />
narratives that denounce civil society as unaccountable lobbyists that do not serve the public<br />
interest.<br />
More widely across Europe, civil society’s response <strong>to</strong> the refugee humanitarian crisis has been met<br />
with hateful rhe<strong>to</strong>ric <strong>and</strong> even criminal persecution of CSOs <strong>and</strong> volunteers. CSOs have been accused<br />
by far-right politicians for supporting human smugglers, for instance, <strong>and</strong> some humanitarian ac<strong>to</strong>rs<br />
have been charged for rescuing people in the Mediterranean. This has gone h<strong>and</strong> in h<strong>and</strong> with a shift<br />
in attitudes on NGOs <strong>and</strong> CSOs engaging with migrants <strong>and</strong> refugees. 41<br />
The smear-campaign against foreign-funded NGOs <strong>and</strong> against George Soros in Hungary are<br />
illustrative of the power of anti-CSO narratives in shrinking democratic space. In addition <strong>to</strong> a foreign<br />
agents CSO law, billboards disparaging George Soros were set up all over Hungary. The smear<br />
campaign paved the way for the closure of the Soros-founded Central European University through<br />
the amendment of the higher education law targeting foreign universities. 42<br />
39<br />
EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (2018): Challenges facing civil society working on human rights in the EU. Available<br />
here.<br />
40<br />
European Parliament (2017): Draft report on budgetary control of financing NGOs from the EU budget(2015/2345(INI)).<br />
Available here.<br />
41<br />
Vosyliute, L. & Conte, C. (2019) : Crackdown on NGOs <strong>and</strong> volunteers helping refugees <strong>and</strong> other migrants. Available here.<br />
42<br />
Fee, S. (2018): Hungary’s Anti-George Soros Campaign Is A Cautionary Tale For The U.S. Available here.<br />
18