Tag Archives: social movements

Anticorruption Protests in Central and Eastern Europe: What They Do and How They Can Do More

Posted on by
Reply

The beginning of 2024 was a period of unrest for several Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. In Slovakia, a series of protests erupted over Prime Minister Robert Fico’s plan to weaken the country’s anticorruption infrastructure. Meanwhile, in Albania, demonstrators took to the streets alleging corruption in the cabinet, demanding investigations, seeking the end of retaliatory investigations against opposition figures, and pushing for the ouster of corrupt officials. And journalists in Croatia turned out in masses to protest a whistleblowing law that would make the investigation of misconduct more difficult.

These aren’t the first anticorruption protests in CEE, and they won’t be the last. Over the past decade, citizens in CEE countries have become much more attuned to the problem of corruption and to their governments’ failure to do much about it. The result has been numerous episodes of citizen-based anticorruption movements. But while such movements have great potential for spurring meaningful change, many have proved ineffective. Why is this? Examining past episodes—for example, in Bulgaria, Slovakia, and the Balkans—may help us better understand the conditions under which anticorruption demonstrations succeed. These past episodes offer a few key lessons:

Continue reading →

New Podcast Episode, Featuring Alice Mattoni

Posted on by
Reply

A new episode of KickBack: The Global Anticorruption Podcast is now available. In this week’s episode, my collaborators Nils Köbis and Jonathan Kleinpass interview Alice Mattoni, Associate Professor in the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the University of Bologna. Professor Mattoni is an expert both in anticorruption and in social movements more broadly, and the interview addresses several aspects of how these two topics intersect. For instance, Professor Mattoni discusses what anticorruption activists and scholars can learn from research on social movements–for example, why it makes more sense to speak in terms of outcomes rather than “successes” or “failures,” and also the importance of how issues are framed. Professor Mattoni also addresses whether (and how) it might be possible to mobilize a global anticorruption movement, in light of the very specific and different understandings of the nature of the corruption problem in different countries. Professor Mattoni also discusses some of the challenges of conducing field research on corruption, and why some people resist labeling themselves as “anticorruption activists.” The final part of the interview turns to social movement activity online, including online anticorruption activism, and whether these forms of online protest can make a positive difference, or whether online forums tend instead to produce so-called “slacktivism,” in which people post or re-post slogans and memes without effecting real change.

You can also find both this episode and an archive of prior episodes at the following locations:

KickBack is a collaborative effort between GAB and the ICRN. If you like it, please subscribe/follow, and tell all your friends! And if you have suggestions for voices you’d like to hear on the podcast, just send me a message and let me know.