Democracy Struggles: NGOs and the Politics of Aid in Serbia (Dislocations Book 25)

Tracing the boom of local NGOs since the 1990s in the context of the global political economy of aid, current trends of neoliberal state restructuring, and shifting post-Cold War hegemonies, this book explores the “associational revolution” in post-socialist, post-conflict Serbia. Looking into the country’s “transition” through a global and relational analytical prism, the ethnography unpacks the various forms of dispossession and inequality entailed in the democracy-promotion project. About the Author Theodora Vetta is European Research Council researcher at the University of Barcelona, and a member of PrecAnthro Union and FOCAAL’s editorial collective. She was formerly a Marie-Curie Fellow at CEU-Budapest and a Swedish-Institute fellow at Lund University. Her recent publications include “Moral Economy: Rethinking a Radical Concept” (Anthropological Theory, 2016) and "The Habits of the Heart: Grassroots 'Revitalization' and State Transformations in Serbia" in Cultures of Doing Good (University of Alabama Press, 2017). Tracing the boom of local NGOs since the 1990s in the context of the global political economy of aid, current trends of neoliberal state restructuring, and shifting post-Cold War hegemonies, this book explores the "associational revolution" in post-socialist, post-conflict Serbia. Looking into the nation's "transition" through a global and relational analytical prism, the ethnography unpacks the various forms of dispossession and inequality entailed in the democracy-promotion project Democracy Struggles Copyright Page Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Part I. Civil Society in the Making Chapter 1. Empowerment, Fast-Track Chapter 2. NGOing and the Donor Effect Part II. The Politics of Culture Chapter 3. The “Democrats” Chapter 4. The “Nationalists” Part III. Good Governance Chapter 5. Revitalizing Communities, Decentralizing the State Chapter 6. NGOs vs. State Conclusion References Index This book traces the boom of local NGOs in Serbia since the 1990s in the context of the global political economy of Aid, neoliberal state restructuring, and shifting post-Cold War hegemonies, and unpacks the various forms of dispossession and inequality entailed in the democracy-promotion project.