Publication

This publication features ten essays on the growing influence of illiberal, anti-Western and socially conservative civil society groups, popular movements and political forces in five post-Soviet states: Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan and Moldova. Key insights highlighted by the essays include 1) that illiberal social attitudes remain prevalent across the region, particularly in relation to LGBTI rights, and they are increasingly used as the focus of political and public mobilization within these societies; 2) while there have been attempts to create illiberal civil society groups that mirror liberal NGOs or think-tanks, they remain significantly less influential than the organizations linked to the dominant religions in these countries such as the Orthodox Church, or political factions with influence over state resources; and more.