"If you give me six lines written by the most honest man, I will find in them something to hang him." - Cardinal Richelieu

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The Rebirth of the Nonprofit Sector in Post-communist Eastern Europe

"After forty years of communism, people's attitudes are not changed overnight. One of the concerns facing the idea of volunteer service, is that many citizens in the communist days were forced to spy on their neighbors and family members, reporting to proper authorities information they learned. This developed into a deep mistrust of your neighbor, and destroyed much of the cohesiveness of society. Under communism, I am not my brother's keeper, I am my brother's spy.

The Securitate (Secret Police) in communist Romania wielded power over the populace by acquiring information. Neighbors "spied" on neighbors, and earned favor with local political authorities by sharing information -- particularly information of a subversive nature. Over the decades, the entire culture, every relationship is tempered with a cautious -- if not suspicious --wariness. The remnants of this attitude represent a major obstacle to the formation of community and participation in voluntary service organizations. This matter will be addressed further under the topic of establishing legitimacy and credibility for the nonprofit sector."

Frankly, I only read the quoted bit - it was the closest I could find to what I was searching for.