The Council of Europe and Cooperation with Civil Society

Abstract

The cooperation between intergovernmental organizations (IGO) and civil society organizations (CSO) is increasingly becoming a highly relevant issue for the effectiveness and legitimacy of multilateral organizations and global governance as such. This chapter adds to existing research, focusing on resources, legitimacy and power implications, by extending the perspective to structural, political, and internal organizational factors. By analyzing the example of the Council of Europe (CoE), it argues, first, that the relationship between the CoE and CSOs might benefit more from informal contacts and multiple access points than from formal status questions or institutionalization. Second, it finds that the CoE serves as an example for the obstruction of civil society inclusion by IGO-inherent political trends and coalitions, which can make both CSOs and IGOs wary of too much engagement with each other. Third, it shows that CSO inclusion depends—especially in the CoE’s case of politicized fields such as human rights and democracy—also significantly on the cultural fit of both organizations.