Regional Europe Office

The Central and Eastern Europe region, along with the Western Balkans, has witnessed a surge in democratic challenges in recent years, manifesting as, rampant disinformation campaigns, escalating cyberthreats, strategic corruption, attacks on free press and civil society, as well as the targeting of minorities and an alarming increase in societal polarization. Collectively, these multifaceted issues contribute to a broader trend of democratic backsliding. 

The persistent and emerging challenges to democracy across Central and Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans require a coordinated, regional approach. IFES’s Regional Europe Office (REO) in Prague, Czech Republic, serves as a strategic counterbalance to democratic backsliding in the region and works to help build the resilience of democratic stakeholders in advance. Since 2014, IFES REO brings together democratic actors – representatives of public institutions, civil society, and private companies – to convene on critical democratic issues, learn from each other’s challenges and successes, adapt and design innovative approaches so that they can then deploy and use what they have learned to catalyze change back at home.