Media & Mass Communication, Volume 2, 2013

Резюме: The weakest link in the democratisation process of Estonia has been the demobilisation of social movements and the emergence of new civil society institutions. Motivated by an interest in the way participatory democracy is performed in post-socialist societies, or rather with failings in this area, this paper studies the backdrop to this current Estonian problem. In post-socialist societies (including Estonia) people are perceived as either ‘winners’ or ‘losers’, the stereotype of ‘winners’ presuming a well-paid job. In these societies, this label is not associated with non-profit activities. In addition to ethnic, gender- and age-based differences, the relation to money and power in society is one of the major sources of stereotypes. Besides a shortage of the economic, informational and human resources that civil society institutions need in order to function, the present situation is influenced by a lack of acknowledgement and recognition of civil society actors by the general public, mass media and other possible cooperation partners. Although existing stereotypes are difficult to break, the most effective way to deconstruct them is to become aware of the stereotyping way of thinking and its consequences.