What is Civil Society?
Definition of a CSO
The concepts of ‘civil society’ and ‘civil society organisation’ are still debated but we use these terms as they are most widely understood internationally. Other common terms are; nonprofit organisation, charity, NGO, third sector, voluntary sector and so on.
The Centre for Civil Society at John Hopkins University 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
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