In the current neo-liberal political and economic climate, it is often suggested that a large and strong state stands in opposition to an autonomous and vibrant civil society. However, the simultaneous presence in Sweden of both a famously large public sector and an unusually vital civil society poses an interesting and important theoretical challenge to these views with serious political and policy implications. Studies show that in a comparative context Sweden scores very highly when it comes to the strength and vitality of its civil society as well as social capital, as measured in terms of trust, lack of corruption, and membership of voluntary associations. The "Swedish Model," therefore, offers important insights into the dynamics of state and civil society relations, which go against current trends of undermining the importance of the welfare state, and presents autonomous civic participation as the only way forward.

The product of more than twenty years of research, first-person observations, discussions, and policy analyses, Nation-Building in the Baltic States: Transforming Governance, Social Welfare, and Security in Northern Europe explores the characteristics of the Baltic states as positioned in the northeast corridor in terms of military strife and polit

In the current neo-liberal political and economic climate, it is often suggested that a large and strong state stands in opposition to an autonomous and vibrant civil society. However, the simultaneous presence in Sweden of both a famously large public sector and an unusually vital civil society poses an interesting and important theoretical challenge to these views with serious political and policy implications. Studies show that in a comparative context Sweden scores very highly when it comes to the strength and vitality of its civil society as well as social capital, as measured in terms of trust, lack of corruption, and membership of voluntary associations. The "Swedish Model," therefore, offers important insights into the dynamics of state and civil society relations, which go against current trends of undermining the importance of the welfare state, and presents autonomous civic participation as the only way forward.

Since the emergence of the dissident “parallel polis” in Eastern Europe, civil society has become a “new superpower,” influencing democratic transformations, human rights, and international co-operation; co-designing economic trends, security and defense; reshaping the information society; and generating new ideas on the environment, health, and the “good life.” This volume seeks to compare and reassess the role of civil society in the rich West, the poorer South, and the quickly expanding East in the context of the twenty-first century’s challenges. It presents a novel perspective on civic movements testing John Keane’s notion of “monitory democracy”: an emerging order of public scrutiny and monitoring of power.

Explores ways to make democracy work better, with particular focus on the integral role of local institutions.

This title was first published in 2003. The Baltic Sea region offers exceptionally rich material for the discussion of civil society. This is because it has witnessed the erosion of communist regimes, the crisis of the welfare state, the increasing importance of new social movements and the shift from a centralist paradigm to one oriented towards networks. This engaging book focuses on the phenomena and prospects for civil society in north-eastern Europe which have had a major impact on political and scholarly debates since 1989. Nineteen experts from the region provide a comprehensive and comparative account of the history, the present state and the perspectives of civil society in the Baltic Sea area. The reader will learn that civil society should not only be seen in opposition to the state and that it has a major impact on current developments of European integration.

Associations provide the most appropriate perspective to the Nordic conception of democracy. The contributions in this book analyze Nordic associations, both in a comparative and historically informed perspective. An extensive introduction relates the historical development of the Nordic countries both to Western Europe and to each other. Then, in the succeeding chapters, the book focuses on Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden and how they relate to each other or to other European countries. Reflections are made on the relevance of the long historical time span. An eloquent indication of the Nordic particularity is the importance of passive membership. It tells of the representation as the key quality of Nordic associations: it has been more important to belong, or to "be part of," than to take part. But passive membership also poses the question of the viability of the Nordic association-based practices. Does the present "crisis of representation" signal the demise of the Nordic model, or can it serve as a springboard for new forms of vigilance?