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Furthering Pluralism? The German Foundations in Transitional Tunisia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2026

Leonie Holthaus
Leonie Holthaus*
Affiliation:
TU Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
*
holthaus@pg.tu-darmstadt.de
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Abstract

This article examines the widely held assumption that Germany’s political foundations pursue distinctively partisan approaches that promise to be advantageous with regard to the furtherance of pluralist civil societies abroad. It reviews this assumption through a qualitative analysis of their partnerships in transitional Tunisia, following a comparison between the German foundations and other Western agencies. It exposes a common secular bias in Western civil society support and qualifies the assumption that the partisan approaches lead easily to pluralist civil society support. While the foundations partner with rather diverse organizations, they still favor organizations that follow Western lines, and their civil society support practices display interest in the furtherance of both pluralism and democratic stability promising corporatism.

Keywords

Democracy assistanceCivil society aidPolitical foundationsPluralismGermanyTunisia

Information

Type
Original Paper
Information
Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations , Volume 30 , Issue 6 , December 2019 , pp. 1284 - 1296
Copyright
Copyright © International Society for Third-Sector Research and The Johns Hopkins University 2019

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