Environmental movement and social change in the transition countries

The environmental movement in ECE has undergone profound transformation: the movement has shifted from being a mobilising agent for populist protest against the totalita of the Communist regime and in its place has emerged pragmatic, goal‐oriented professional organisations. Western aid agencies and environmental peer groups have had a strong influence on this transformation. The transformation has brought advantages to environmental NGOs. However, it has also resulted in a loss of the local perspective, with its distinct modus operandi and bottom‐up input, and this has impoverished political discourse in the transition states.