Civil society initiatives and prospects of economic development [Ressource électronique] : the euro‐mediterranean decentralized co‐operation networks / Maurizio Giammusso

Bibliogr. p. 50-52

The Euro-Mediterranean decentralized co-operation programmes constitute an important innovation in the EU policies toward the Mediterranean region. They imply financial support to networks of civil society institutions across the Mediterranean. The primary condition for the success of the programmes is the possibility of synergistic relations between state and society. However, the present socio-political context of most Middle Eastern and North African countries still seems inappropriate for the proliferation of initiatives by civil society institutions. Among the main constraints to bottom-up initiatives for economic development in the region are the anti-democratic character of Islamic radical movements, the persistence of symbiotic relations between state and private companies, and the maintenance of cumbersome bureaucracies. The European Union launched the programmes as an instrument to support civil society and ultimately to encourage democratization in the non-member Mediterranean countries. This article debates to what extent these goals can be achieved and contends that the granting of civil freedoms to civil society institutions is in fact a precondition for the implementation of the programmes