Exploring the role of Western NGOs in creating and strengthening local NGOs in Albania

This article explores the role of Western Non-Governmental Organizations (WNGOs) in creating and/or strengthening Local Non-Governmental Organizations (LNGOs) that influence the process of social change at the grassroots level. By critically examining the case of Albania, it explores the emergence, meaning and effectiveness of the West’s civil society promotion agenda in Western Balkans. The article revolves around the following two interrelated questions: (i) How effective are the top-down models applied by WNGOs in establishing LNGOs that seek to provide alternative social and political spaces for their constituencies? (ii) To what extent do WNGOs allow LNGOs to define and redefine their role in the development process by giving voice to the fundamental concerns of the local people? It suggests that the practices of WNGOs seldom help LNGOs to present a new development model firmly rooted in the realities of the local community that they represent.