Crisis and Transition of NGOs in Europe: The Case of Greece

Abstract

The ongoing financial crisis has globally impacted nearly every national economy in the world. Although its initial effects were concentrated purely in the financial sector, increased economic turbulence has gradually diffused into most sectors of society—including civil society and NGOs. One basic consequence has been the transformation of development assistance due to a decrease in available funding from the usual “suspects”, known as “old donors,” and a subsequent increase from so called “new donors” such as China and Brazil. Moreover, many of these “new donors” are negatively predisposed to working with NGOs and thus available funding to NGOs in the international level seems to be decreasing. A focus on the national level also reveals a similar case: countries that were greatly impacted by the aftermath of the crisis, such as Greece, have sharply decreased available public funding to NGOs.

This paper explores the effects of these developments. Its initial findings suggest that the “western model” of NGOs expansion is less viable than before. NGOs are being accused of losing their fundamental values and working mostly as ‘walking sticks’—covering states’ inefficiencies in specific sectors—thus their function as an unofficial public sector is being challenged. In practice, NGOs are transforming into dedicated contractors of national and international public agencies with limited to no real interconnection with society. This transformation is being rendered incompatible with the new environment, as available contracts are becoming less lucrative. As a result, many NGOs are rediscovering their idealistic past while new, less formal civil society actors are arising to cover the multiple needs created by the crisis. Focusing mainly on the Greek case study, this paper presents a seldom-studied effect of the financial crisis—the transformation of the NGO sector, culminating in informal networks overlapping with “old school” NGOs which find it difficult to adjust to the new economic situation. Evidence suggests that a dual trend currently exists where a small segment of existing “professionalized” NGOs are able to gain public funding through the usual public procurement procedures. Thus, they are able to survive and further expand in conjunction with the rise of small, grassroots organizations whose main strengths derive from their devotion to the practice of philanthropy, altruism, and voluntarism, in addition to their widespread acceptance from the general public.

Author Biographies

Dr. S. Petropoulos is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Departments of Political Science & International Relations and of Economics of the University of the Peloponnese. He holds a Ph.D. from Harokopion University of Athens as well as a M.A. in International Political Economy from Warwick University, UK. He has taught in several academic institutions in Greece while his articles have been published in international academic journals and edited volumes. Dr. Petropoulos has worked for more than 5 years as an International Donors Senior Consultant at Ernst & Young. In addition, he has managed and participated in numerous research projects, currently acting as project manager and researcher in two projects related to NGOs in Greece. His research interests focus on NGOs, evaluation techniques, East Asian region, regional integration, global governance and emerging powers.

Anastasios Valvis is a Junior Research Fellow at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP), Southeast Europe programme. He is PhD candidate of Political Science and International Relations, University of the Peloponnese. He holds a BA on political Science from Athens National University and a MA in International Politics and Security Studies from the department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford. He has been for more than 3 years researcher at the Institute of International Economic Relations, and he has also participated in research projects such as at the University of Athens (Jean Monnet European Centre of Excellence, project on European and Greek foreign policy), and at the University of Peloponnese (Research project: Exploring the Integration Opportunities and Prospects of African Immigrants into the Greek Society). His main interest focus on political and social transformations in Southeast Europe and in Greece, Civil Society and Environmental Security in the Balkans.