The Effects of State Regulations and Finance on Civil Society Organizations

Abstract

Interest organizations are – like party organizations – part of civil society but constrained by various state regulations and may, to a greater or lesser extent, rely on state funding to finance their activities. In recent years, we have seen studies of the relationship between public regulations, finance and political parties but few studies addressing the possible consequences of state regulations and finance on civil society groups across different organization types. Indeed, scholars have paid limited attention to the organizational developments of interest groups in recent decades, yet seem to agree that the relationship between organizational resources, organizational maintenance and the political influence is important. A key question is whether state regulations including corporatist institutions and state funding affect different forms of civil society organizations to the same extent and in the same way, for example by nurturing organizational professionalization across political parties, interest groups and service-providing NGOs – or whether the effects are contingent. This panel investigates that issue. Do organizations systematically change over time in response to changes in the state regulations and/or in the provision of direct or indirect state funding, and if so in what way? Do the specifics of the (changing) regulatory and state finance regime make a difference? Does the relationship between such constraints and organizational structure/behavior or development depend on other contextual features and/or on organization type? Last, but not least, papers may investigate whether and how the organizational relationship between political parties and non-party organizations is affected by state.