Teaching Paper: Glossary of Civic Space and NGO Resilience – Concepts, Applications, and Practical Insights

Understanding civil society in restrictive environments requires shared conceptual clarity. This Teaching Paper presents a glossary of essential terms that explain how NGOs navigate shrinking civic space, authoritarian resilience, and hybrid political systems. Each entry combines academic definition and applied insight, linking theory to practice through field-relevant notes. The glossary includes key concepts such as civic space, authoritarian resilience, diaspora activism, everyday resistance, monitoring and evaluation, and transnational advocacy networks. By integrating scholarly precision with practitioner usability, the glossary helps bridge communication between researchers, educators, and NGO professionals. It serves as both a learning tool and a framework for designing adaptive strategies in contexts of repression and uncertainty.