Civil society in translation: innovations to political discourse in Southeast Europe

ABSTRACT

After the dissolution of the Soviet block and the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe, the 1990s saw the emergence of new democratic and market institutions in these countries, most notably of post-communist civil-society organisations (CSOs). This research explores the processes of translation and localisation related to civil society. It draws on experiences related to civil-society development in Macedonia.

The research supports the thesis that the overwhelming public perception of civil society in the countries of Southeast Europe (SEE), as non-homegrown and imposed from abroad, has to do not with their lack of historical precedence in the region but with the fact that its transitional political discourse was one of translation. This paper argues that the dissemination of the basic concepts of civil society is not simply a matter of conceptual and discursive import from the West and adjustment to it by CSO actors in the East.

KEYWORDS:

• Civil society
• Southeast Europe
• Western Balkans
• Macedonia
• post-communist
• development
• USAID
• translation

Acknowledgments

I would like to express my gratitude to civil-society and development experts, Nikica Kusinikova and Zarko Koneski, both former colleagues at the Institute for Sustainable Communities Skopje, for their invaluable support in obtaining materials for analysis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. All translations from resources in languages other than English, unless otherwise noted, are mine.

2. The back translations of Macedonian terms in English are provided for the sake of readers who do not know the language. However, please note that the words used have different ideologically nuanced connotations, as the article tries to point out.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marija Todorova

Marija Todorova holds a PhD in Translation Studies from the Hong Kong Baptist University, and a PhD in Peace and Development Studies from University Ss. Cyril and Methodius Skopje. She has more than 10 years of experience working for various international organizations including UNDP, UNHCR, DfID, and OSCE. Her research interests include interpreters in mediation, intercultural education, and visual representation in translation. She is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Todorova is an Executive Council member of IATIS.