RESILIO-ACCESS Snapshot Series: Thriving Civil Society and Academic Freedom as Subsidiary Resources for a Resilient Rule of Law in EU Accession Candidates
While Europe navigates a period of geopolitical transformation and rising illiberalism, the foundational principles of the EU’s liberal democratic societies face challenges from within and from without. In recent years, the rule of law has increasingly come under threat across Europe, both in current member states and aspiring ones, testing its resilience. According to the RESILIO-ACCESS model, resilience in this context refers to the capacity of the rule of law to prevent, cope with or recover from hazardous events or incremental threats without losing its core function, structure and purpose. Thus, it is essential to better understand the mechanisms and resources of said resilience.
The RESILIO-ACCESS model distinguishes between primary and subsidiary resilience resources and identifies stressors to the rule of law. While primary resources refer to the systemic and procedural foundations of the rule of law itself, subsidiary resources reflect the social environment in which the rule of law is embedded. In this model, civil society and academic freedom act as subsidiary resilience resources, alongside unbiased media, public deliberation, citizens’ democratic participation, and electoral democracy.
As key tools to uphold rule of law, civil society organisations and academic institutions are under mounting pressures in Europe. They increasingly face smear campaigns, funding cuts, growing administrative hurdles, and deteriorating relationships with governments. These impediments not only hamper the institutional development of civil society organisations (CSOs) and narrow the space for civic engagement; they also limit their capacity to contribute to the democratic decision-making system. At the same time, academic institutions are facing similar challenges by nationalist-populist movements that reject pluralism, which are silencing critical or dissenting voices and redirect funding and support to organisations aligned with their causes.
However, the interconnectivity of these different resources of rule of law resilience makes CSOs and academia effective mechanisms for rule of law resilience. They foster civic participation, critical thinking, and healthy public debate by educating citizens. By collaborating in networks and projects, they amplify each other’s potential as shields and catalysts of liberal democracy and rule of law resilience.
This Snapshot elaborates on how CSOs and academic freedoms act as subsidiary resources for rule of law resilience in accession candidate countries, guiding their paths to the EU. How do these mechanism work under growing pressure and governmental constraints in the accession region? Taking the current situation in Serbia, we will look Thriving Civil Society and Academic Freedom as Subsidiary Resources for a Resilient Rule of Law in EU Accession Candidates Liza Saris Policy Analyst and Project Manager, European Policy Centre Berta López Domènech Policy Analyst, European Policy Centre February 2026 “As key tools to uphold rule of law, civil society organisations and academic institutions are under mounting pressures in Europe.” 3 at the mechanisms of civil society and academic freedom for rule of law resilience in the context of the EU accession process.
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This publication is part of the RESILIO‑ACCESS Snapshots series, a collection of ten in‑depth analyses exploring approaches to assessing the resilience of the rule of law in EU accession countries. It was originally published by the Institut für Europäische Politik.
Liza Saris is Policy Analyst and Project Manager at the EPC.
Berta López Domènech is a Policy Analyst in the European Politics and Institutions Programme at the European Policy Centre.
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