Civil Society Cooperation in the Face of Territorial Adversity: The Estonian-Russian Case

The main objective of this paper is two-fold. In its first part, it gives a description of the main civil society actors of local and regional cross-border cooperation in the Estonian-Russian border area, which encompasses the Russian administrative regions of Pskov and Leningrad and the eastern Estonian counties of Ida-Virumaa, Jotildegevamaa, Tartumaa and Potildelvamaa. It analyses their motivations and the main factors that affect the dynamics of their cooperation. The second part of the paper addresses the perceptions of representatives of civil society organizations with regard to the role of the EU in promoting cross-border cooperation on the EU external border, its support for civil society organization (CSO) cooperation activities and its way of engaging CSOs in the implementation of its policies for cross-border cooperation.