What is Civil Society?
Definition of a CSO
Our understanding of a civil society organisation (CSO) draws on the work of the John Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project which defines a civil society organisation as:
“Any organisation whether formal or informal, that are not part of the apparatus of government, that do not distribute profits to their directors or operators, that are self-governing, and in which participation is a matter of free choice. Both member-serving and public-serving organisations are included. Embraced within this definition, therefore, are private, not-for-profit health providers, schools, advocacy groups, social service agencies, anti-poverty groups, development agencies, professional associations, community-based organisations, unions, religious bodies, recreation organisations, cultural institutions and many more.” Statement of the Sixteenth Annual Johns Hopkins International Fellows in Philanthropy Conference Nairobi, Kenya
The concepts of ‘civil society’ and ‘civil society organisation’ are still debated and contested. We use these terms, however, as we believe they are most likely to garner acceptance in all the countries we work with. Each country might use alternative terms to refer to the same set of organisations. Terms include; non profit sector, third sector, voluntary sector, charity sector and so on.
Further Reading on Civil Society
Global Civil Society John Keane, University of Westminster, 2003 Global Civil Society John Keane University of Westminster.pdf
London School of Economics Definition of Civil Society
Click here to read this definition
Civil society in non-Western contexts: Reflections on the ‘usefulness’ of a concept. LSE, Civil Society Working Paper 13, David Lewis, October 2001
Click here to read this publication
Civil Society: Definition of a Concept Marlies Glasius, London School of Economics and Political Science Click here to read this article
Civil Domains in African Settings: Some Issues A discussion paper prepared by David Sogge for the Hivos Africa Consultation, 7th – 9th June 2004, Arusha, Tanzania Civil Domains in African Settings - Some Issues.pdf
What is a Non-Governmental Organization? Professor Peter Willetts, City University, London Click here to read this article
Civil Society: Change and Continuity Andrew Milner, A Draft discussion paper prepared for the Commonwealth Foundation Citizens and Governance Programme, 2001 Click here to read the publication
Sub sections for this page:
What is Civil Society? : GSI Resources : Events