ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how Central and Eastern European (CEE) non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were embedded into the liberal thinking and how they became non-state actors involved in democracy promotion in the post-communist region. It argues that CEE NGOs that were established in the 1990s were embedded by the liberal concept of democracy that shaped their understanding of the type of democracy that should be promoted in other post-communist countries. The chapter demonstrates the beginning of civil society organizations in the region based on the Polish example, because civil society in Poland received Western democracy assistance already in the 1980s as a means to support democratization in the region. Given their close linkages and knowledge on the ground, they developed the ability to respond to the needs of recipients. For CEE NGOs, democracy assistance is mainly about working with people, helping to improve their quality of life.
