Haki Abazi on Supporting ‘The Civil Society Triangle’ to Tackle Corruption in Post-Conflict Countries
Collaboration among multiple types of civil society organizations can more effectively combat criminalized power structures and corruption prevalent in countries emerging from conflict, according to Haki Abazi, director of the Fund's Western Balkans program. As a contributor to the new book, Combating Criminalized Power Structures: A Toolkit, Abazi details how the ‘Civil Society Triangle’—comprising policy think tanks, grassroots organizations, and independent media—serves as a strong basis to advocate for a higher level of transparency and accountability.
By working together on issue-based projects, civil society organizations are better equipped to focus their activities, respond to citizen demands, maintain their independent position, and foster meaningful change. Abazi has worked to implement the model in countries across the region, bringing together local organizations in Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Hungary. He writes that using this approach, “civil society becomes a watchdog of government as opposed to being incoherent and impotent at resisting the retaliatory behavior of [criminalized power structures], or worse, becoming an instrument of the government.”
Related Links
Rowman and Littlefield—Combating Criminalized Power Structures: A Toolkit, edited by Michael Dziedzic (2016)