Philanthropic Foundations in Times of Societal and Political Change - Benevolent Autocrats in Democracies?

Abstract

Privately endowed philanthropic foundations are an integral part of political systems and civil societies in Western democracies. Most recently they have continued to move away from the confines of purely charitable giving and have started to become increasingly important agents of social change and knowledge production. Being resourceful and relatively independent actors, foundations are political actors that can operate beyond electoral mechanisms and public oversight, in social fields such as education, science, ecology, healthcare, urban development etc. At the same time, liberal democracies usually offer considerable tax privileges to these charitable organisations allowing them to practically use taxpayers’ money on their projects. In this regard projects related to the common good and supported by public resources are introduced by foundations in an autocratic fashion without public participation and deliberation. Against this backdrop, many questions arise: How do foundations resolve these tensions, justify and legitimise their presence in political field and civil society? How do they use knowledge and expertise to promote their understanding of social problems and their solutions? How do they establish cooperation with other civil society actors (e.g. other foundations, think tanks, NGOs, social movements) and for what purpose? How can citizens contribute and impact project development and knowledge production through philanthropic foundations? This panel invites papers related to the investigation of philanthropic foundations, their projects and their understanding of common good and public benefits. We are particularly interested in studies related to expertise and knowledge production by foundations and their impact on the public sphere and political development. This panel invites single-case and comparative studies based on various methodological approaches.

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