The Professionalisation of Organised Civil Society

Abstract

Civil society organizations are seen as contributing to democracy on several fronts: fostering a more participatory democracy; schools of democracy; policy-making partners (e.g. agenda-setting, design, monitoring, evaluation); representative vehicles; countervailing forces; and surrogates for those who lack the necessary political resources. However, many organizations has mutated into professionalized entities and the professionalization process has had a significant impact on: organizational structures and recruitment (elite and mass); the organizational ability to mobilize and engage an active citizenry (the conventional activist appears to have been replaced by the ephemeral passive participant); funding and patronage; lobbying activities; policy-makers’ perceptions of an organization likely contribution to policy-making; and the organizational capacity to influence policy outcomes. This panel welcomes theoretical/conceptual and empirical papers that contribute to an understanding of the professionalization of civil society organizations. Theoretical/conceptual papers should aim to present fresh or novel approaches, or synthesize existing thinking. Empirical papers should be theoretically informed and concern themselves with advancing the level of understanding through the provision of detailed evidence.

Title	Details
Opening the Black Box: The Professionalisation of Interest Groups in the European Union	View Paper Details
On the Professionalisation of Communication Management. Empirical Results from a Large Online Survey with Interest Groups in CH, D and UK	View Paper Details
The Professionalisation of Community Organising in UK, from London Citizens to the Big Society	View Paper Details
Theoretical reflections on representation by CSOs and their professionalisation	View Paper Details
Professionalisation of NGOs: Friend or Foe of Grassroots Representation?	View Paper Details