Former EDP Member and PRIF Associate Researcher Annika Elena Poppe contributed to the arte-tv-documentation on the topic “shrinking civic spaces”.

The documentary which is titled “Im Fadenkreuz der Machthaber. Angriff auf die Zivilgesellschaft” (German) by arte portrays the global development of shrinking civic spaces with examples from India, Russia and Poland. The film shows the repression to which civil society is subjected and the implications this has for the future of the democratic idea.

Non-governmental organizations and other civil society actors who demand democracy and human rights and are active against social grievances and environmental destruction become targets of defamation campaigns, repression and criminalization by governments. In recent years, more than 60 laws have been enacted worldwide that specifically and systematically make the work of NGOs more difficult or even impossible. The causes are manifold, but the common denominator is the preservation of political power and the safeguarding of economic interests. Not only authoritarian, but also democratic governments are incriminating the scope of action of independent and critical actors. This documentary tries to answer what can be done to counter this development, among others.

It can be accessed until End of October here.

Find out more about Annika Poppe here.