{"title":"Membership and citizenship within an embedded theory of democracy","authors":"C. Balestri","doi":"10.1332/204080521x16860482701456","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"While the main economic theories regarding the third sector argue that nonprofit organisations arise as institutional solutions to government and market failures, their role in influencing public and market outcomes are far less explored in economic research. This gap can be filled by borrowing from the social capital literature that provides a more highly integrated vision of the relationship among the three sectors. From this overturned perspective, the paper suggests an embedded theory of democracy in which civil society organisations play a crucial role in making democratic institutions work, by shaping social relations among citizens through equal and inclusive membership structures.","PeriodicalId":45084,"journal":{"name":"Voluntary Sector Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8000,"publicationDate":"2023-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Voluntary Sector Review","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1332/204080521x16860482701456","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"SOCIAL SCIENCES, INTERDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
While the main economic theories regarding the third sector argue that nonprofit organisations arise as institutional solutions to government and market failures, their role in influencing public and market outcomes are far less explored in economic research. This gap can be filled by borrowing from the social capital literature that provides a more highly integrated vision of the relationship among the three sectors. From this overturned perspective, the paper suggests an embedded theory of democracy in which civil society organisations play a crucial role in making democratic institutions work, by shaping social relations among citizens through equal and inclusive membership structures.
期刊介绍:
The journal covers the full range of issues relevant to voluntary sector studies, including: definitional and theoretical debates; management and organisational development; financial and human resources; philanthropy; volunteering and employment; regulation and charity law; service delivery; civic engagement; industry and sub-sector dimensions; relations with other sectors; social enterprise; evaluation and impact. Voluntary Sector Review covers voluntary sector studies from a variety of disciplines, including sociology, social policy, politics, psychology, economics, business studies, social anthropology, philosophy and ethics. The journal includes work from the UK and Europe, and beyond, where cross-national comparisons are illuminating. With dedicated expert policy and practice sections, Voluntary Sector Review also provides an essential forum for the exchange of ideas and new thinking.