The Anti-NGO Narrative: The attempt to delegitimise civil society
Civil society organisations (CSOs) are increasingly facing allegations and delegitimising attributions. The new publication The Anti-NGO Narrative by Dr. Siri Hummel (Maecenata Institute) and Dr. Peter Schubert (ZiviZ at the Stifterverband) provides fact-based analyses in response, demonstrating how these narratives work. The publication is complemented by an accompanying factsheet, which subjects the main accusations to a fact-check and presents up-to-date figures on the development of civil society in Germany.
With previously unpublished data, the authors highlight: Civil society is not a homogeneous “power cartel”, but a complex network of plural interests, with around 662,789 registered civil society organisations in Germany.
Key Findings
- The anti-NGO narrative operates with empirically unsupported theses and strategic simplifications that ignore the state of research and the constitutional framework.
- It constructs a threat from alleged “left-wing lobby groups”, while business-oriented or conservative actors remain invisible in the discourse.
- Defamatory terms and narratives aim at systematically delegitimising civil society influence, deliberately misunderstanding the democratic function of criticism, advocacy, and protest beyond party-political logic and state institutions.
- CSOs are diverse and do not only represent left-wing positions. Civil society is a reflection of society as a whole – there are CSOs that represent left-wing positions, but there are also those that take liberal and conservative positions. Additionally, right-wing extremist associations and foundations also exist.
- CSO funding is predominantly self-generated: membership fees, private donations, and self-earned funds make up the largest share. Public funding plays a comparatively minor role.
- CSOs hold no state power and cannot silence anyone (keyword: censorship). Rather, CSOs create public awareness, highlight injustices, show solidarity with those affected – and thus defend democratic spaces for discourse, which are increasingly under pressure from hate speech.
About the Authors
Dr. Siri Hummel is Director of the Maecenata Institute for Philanthropy and Civil Society and is a political scientist and communication expert. She completed her PhD at the University of Greifswald on the topic of democracy promotion through foundations. Her research focuses on democracy and civil society, as well as gender equality in civil society and foundation studies. Additionally, she is a lecturer in the Nonprofit Management and Public Governance programme at the Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht.
Dr. Peter Schubert is Head of ZiviZ at the Stifterverband and is responsible for central data projects, such as the ZiviZ Survey and the Corporate Engagement Monitor. He studied political science, economics, and nonprofit management in Heidelberg, Paris, and Seattle, and completed his PhD at the University of Hamburg on the financial management of nonprofit organisations.
