Civil Society: Concepts, Challenges, Contexts

This volume is a collection of original essays prepared by colleagues, collaborators, and former students on the occasion of Helmut K. Anheier's 65th birthday and retirement from the University of Heidelberg. An internationally recognized pioneer of nonprofit and civil society studies, Anheier focused his work on providing clarity around (1) civil society, local and global, observing its origins and trajectory and developing theories to explain it; (2) the nonprofit sector and institutions within and extending from it, including nonprofit organizations, philanthropy and social investment; and (3) culture as it relates to democracy and back to civil society. The essays in this volume refer to these concepts and position them in the context of developments over the last two to three decades. The volume is arranged in three sections. The first section comprises essays that elucidate concepts and probe theories in the field. The second section presents chapters discussing current global challenges and trends in the focal areas. The third and final section then comprises country and regional case studies illustrating important aspects of the global challenges or theoretical issues of the two preceding sections.

A fascinating and up-to-date overview of key issues and trends in civil society and nonprofit research by an international collection of eminent scholars in these fields, this book will be attractive to civil society and nonprofit sector researchers as well as a broader academic community of political scientists, sociologists, economists, and cultural experts.

Presents a tribute to Helmut K. Anheier, pioneer of nonprofit and civil society studies Provides a unique combination of nonprofit and civil society perspectives Discusses the role and place of civil society in democracies

Auteur
Michael Hoelscher is Professor of Higher Education and Research Management at the University of Speyer, Germany.

Regina A. List is an independent writer, editor and consultant based in Hamburg, Germany.

Alexander Ruser is Professor of Sociology at University of Agder in Kristiansand, Norway.

Stefan Toepler is Professor of Nonprofit Studies in the Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University in Virginia, USA.

Résumé
"This book is a refreshing novelty by covering many of the relevant discussions nowadays at the state of the art in terms of civil society knowledge production. And, as it presents a wide range of topics, it provides a starting point for conceptual and empirical studies, serving as a reference guide to civil society and nonprofit sector researchers and students in general, and can also be useful for practitioners in the above-mentioned fields." (Cássio Aoqui, Voluntas, Vol. 34 (4), 2023)

Contenu
Chapter 1: Civil Society Concepts, Challenges, and Contexts: An Introduction to Helmut Anheier's Festschrift.- Chapter 2: Scholarship, Leadership, and Institution Building: Helmut Anheier and the Nonprofit and Philanthropic Sectors.- Part I: Developing Concepts and Theoretical Frames.- Chapter 3: The Theory of the Public Sphere Revisited.- Chapter 4: Dealing with Civility: Citizenship, Real Citizens and the Science of Civil Society.- Chapter 5: Successful Failure: Functions and Dysfunctions of Civil Society Organizations.- Chapter 6: Social Innovation Not Without Civil Society.- Chapter 7: The Hiding Hand, Persistent Fragile Action, and Sustainable Development.- Chapter 8: Using the System of National Accounts Framework to Measure Social Impacts of Social Economy Institutions.- Chapter 9: From Anheier's Civil Society Diamond to a Principled Fundraising Jurisprudence for Civil Society.- Chapter 10: Legitimizing Foundations: Functions, Expectations, and Regulation.- Chapter 11: Foundations and Democracy: The Changing Case for the Defense.- Chapter 12: Foundations: Is Measurement the Enemy of Creativity.- Part II: Charting Global Challenges.- Chapter 13: Planetary Politics: Reviving the Spirit of the Concept Global Civil Society.- Chapter 14: Global Civil Society in Retreat: Is It Cyclical or Existential.- Chapter 15: The Offensive Against Global Civil Society: Diffusion of NGO Restrictions.- Chapter 16: Civil Society Actors in International Cultural Diplomacy.- Chapter 17: Arts, Cultural Participation, and Democracy. Analyzing the Indicator Framework on Culture and Democracy.- Chapter 18: Global Civil Religion.- Chapter 19: Civil Society and the Problem of Knowledge.- Chapter 20: The Dark Side of the Nonprofit Sector: Polarization in Contemporary Society.- Part III: Changing Contexts: Local and Regional Case Studies.- Chapter 21: Civil Society Encroachment in Non-liberal Democracies: The Case of Israel.- Chapter 22: Policy Controversies and Challenges for Organized Civil Society: The Case of England Before the COVID-19 Crisis.- Chapter 23: Transformation of Civil Society Organization Functions in Modern Russia.- Chapter 24: The Skeptic Who Came in from the Cold? The Formation of a Climate-skeptic Alliance in Germany.- Chapter 25: The Recent Evolution of Foundations in France.- Chapter 26: Pluralism and Inequality: Brief Reflections on Philanthropic Foundations and their Study in the United States.- Chapter 27: Businesses as Civil Society Actors? An Engagement and Cooperation Analysis Based on German Company Data.- Chapter 28: Scenarios for Civil Society Impact in Norway.- Chapter 29: Women in the German Nonprofit Sector: Working Conditions and Promotion Opportunities.- Chapter 30: Los Angeles and the State of the Nonprofit Sector: A Review of Findings and Examination of Three Theses.- Appendix: Helmut K. Anheier's publications.- Index. <p