Resources

This page includes key research materials, developed by iCon members, think tanks, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), on the challenge of closing space faced by civil society. These resources will be beneficial to inform concerned groups with challenges faced by civil society around the world.

General Background on Closing Space

• Civicus, “State of Civil Society Report 2016”
• Thomas Carothers and Saskia Brechenmacher, “Closing Space: Democracy and Human Rights Support Under Fire”
• Sarah Mendelson, “Why Governments Target Civil Society and What Can Be Done in Response”
• CSIS and Open Global Rights, "Closing Space for Civil Society"
• Richard Youngs, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, "Global Civic Activism in Flux"
   

Identifying New Programmatic Models

• Ed Rekosh, “Old Dogs and New Tricks: Rethinking Human Rights Business Models”
• Jens Siegert, “Does Russian Civil Society Exist Today”
• John Harvey and Andrzej Kozloski, “Internationally Engaged Foundations: Coping with the Disabling Environment”
• The EU-Russia Civil Society Forum, "The State of Civil Society in Some EU Countries and Russia: Summary"
• Grigory Okhotin, "Crowdfunding to Bypass Russia’s Civil Society Crackdown"
• Inés M. Pousadela & Anabel Cruz, "The Sustainability of Latin American CSOs: Historical Patterns and New Funding Sources"
• WACSI, "The State of Civil Society Organisations’ Sustainability in Ghana: Striving, Surviving or Thriving?" 
• Dzodzi Tsikata, Maame Gyekye-Jandoh and Martin Hushie, "Political Economy Analysis (PEA) of Civil Society in Ghana"
• Charity and Security Network, "Report on Financial Access for U.S. Nonprofits Reveals Broad Scope of Problem"
• Thomas Carothers, "The Closing Space Challenge: How are Funders Responding?"
• Poonam Joshi, Fund for Global Human Rights, "Challenging the Closing Space for Civil Society: A Practical Starting Point for Funders"
   

Broadening Domestic Constituencies

• Jeong-Woo Koo, Byeong-Eun Cheong, Francisco O. Ramirez, “Who Thinks and Behaves According to Human Rights?: Evidence from the Korean National Human Rights Survey”
• Hussein Baoumi, “Local Funding Is Not Always the Answer”
• Jenny Hodgson, “Local Funding Is Not Just an Option Anymore – It’s an Imperative”
• Charles Kojo Vandyck, “Beyond Foreign Funding – Selling Human Rights in Africa”
   

Strengthening Transnational Solidarity

• Jonas Wolff and Annika Poppe, “From Closing Spaces to Contested Spaces”
• Alice M. Nah, Karen Bennett, Danna Ingleton, James Savage, “A Research Agenda for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders”
• Civil Society. Dialogue for Progress, "Researching and Mapping Activities in Six Eastern Partnership Countries"
   

Aligning Security and Civic Space

• Poonam Joshi, “FATF and Mexico, how anti money laundering legislation has weakened the human rights response to the war on drugs”
• Seema Nair, “Can Indian NGOs Bank on the Banks”
• Shannon Green, “Violent Groups Aggravate Government Crackdowns on Civil Society”
• Iva Dobichina and Poonam Joshi, “In the Name of Security: When Silencing Active Citizens Creates Even Greater Problems”
• Duke Law International Human Rights Clinic and Women Peacemakers Program, "Tightening the Purse Strings: What Countering Terrorism Financing Costs Gender Equality and Security"