Defunding dissent: "иностранные агенты" в сравнительной перспективе

Пока российские власти ведут охоту на финансируемые из-за рубежа НКО, в последнем выпуске Journal of Democracy (2013, vol.24, No.2) появилась статья Darin Christensen и Jeremy Weinstein из Стэнфорда, посвященная сравнительному анализу препятствий, которые правительства различных стран воздвигают на пути иностранного финансирования некоммерческих организаций. Тезисы статьи, впрочем, со стороны выглядят почти как "капитан Очевидность":

Decisions to restrict foreign support for civil society reflect policy makers’ reading of both domestic and international incentives. Domestic concerns are paramount. Even in partial democracies, vulnerable governments restrict civil society in hopes of weakening groups that might mobilize opposition... Most countries with unhindered oppositions and free and fair voting impose no restrictions on foreign funding for NGOs. Conversely, of the countries that engage in electoral manipulation, a majority prohibit or restrict external support for NGOs...
While significant attention has been paid to the potential risks to regimes of a stronger civil society, governments may impose restrictions on foreign funding not to stymie the opposition, but rather to win support among citizens. Where foreign donors are unpopular, leaders can realize a domestic political payoff by limiting donors’ influence—real or perceived. A February 2012 Gallup poll found that 85 percent of Egyptians opposed “the U.S. sending direct aid to Egyptian civil society groups.” By restricting foreign funding, Egyptian politicians appear to be responding to electoral incentives. If this argument is correct, countries with high levels of anti-Americanism should be more likely to adopt foreign funding restrictions, as the U.S. provides a large share of the assistance for civil society..."

Ну и так далее. Некоторые фактические данные, приведенные в приложении http://www.journalofdemocracy.org/sites/default/files/WeinsteinFigures-24-2.pdf выглядят особенно примечательно, включая оптимистическое (или пессимистическое - смотря с какой стороны глядеть) последнее предложение: "Financial support from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) has not been
as dramatically affected by restrictions on foreign funding for civil society. As an independent organization, NED appears to have escaped political pressure to accept new, restrictive legal frameworks and has found creative strategies for continuing its support for civil society groups in closed environments".