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Scandinavian Civil Society and Social Transformations pp 1–24Cite as

The Transformation of the Scandinavian Voluntary Sector

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Part of the book series: Nonprofit and Civil Society Studies ((NCSS))

Abstract

The Scandinavian civil societies have several characteristics that distinguish them from other types of civil society regimes. This includes high organizational density and a high level of participation in voluntary organizations (membership and volunteering); a democratic organizational model where organizations operate within a structure of local, regional, and national chapters; and a corporative pluralistic system characterized by state-friendliness and close collaboration between the state and the civil society. In this chapter, we discuss how exogenous processes of change, like increased individualization, digitalization and immigration, and endogenous processes of change like alterations in public policy, may influence on how the Scandinavian civil society model functions. This chapter provides a historical and conceptual framework for understanding the changes going on and gives arguments for why Norway is a good case for discussing these changes.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The model is sometimes called the “Nordic model” when it includes Finland and Iceland in addition to the Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Denmark, and Norway). Even though Finland and Iceland share several characteristics with the Scandinavian countries, they diverge on important dimensions. Hence, we choose to concentrate on the Scandinavian countries in this book.

  2. 2.

    For more detailed information about the data used, see individual chapters and appendixes.

  3. 3.

    Sweden has been on a route to a universalistic welfare state for a longer time and has gone much further than the other countries (Lundström & Wijkström, 1997). Norway is in an intermediate position, where there is a universalistic public policy, particularly in compulsory education, basic health services, and social services for the sick, the elderly, and the handicapped. Although voluntary sector providers exist, they have in many ways been so closely integrated into the public system of finance and control that hardly any differences in services or ideology exist.

  4. 4.

    A fourth possible type is the weak civil society, characterized by few and mostly passive memberships. This civil society type is empirically found in countries like Russia and Slovenia (Strømsnes & Wollebæk, 2010).

  5. 5.

    The Scandinavian countries also share a long period of common history. Norway was under Danish rule from 1397 to 1814 and thereafter in union with Sweden until 1905.

  6. 6.

    Even if they were independent of the traditional popular movements, many of the new local leisure organizations nevertheless chose an organizational form that linked them to national organizations and a democratic structure where the members played a decisive role.

  7. 7.

    The weight put on so-called self-expression values within Scandinavian countries has become stronger over time (see WVS, 2017).

  8. 8.

    There is a huge variation here between different parts of the country. In the capital, Oslo, one-third of the population are either immigrants or Norwegian-born to immigrant parents (Statistics Norway, 2017).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Social Research, Oslo, Norway

    Bernard Enjolras

  2. Department of Comparative Politics, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

    Kristin Strømsnes

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  1. Bernard Enjolras
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Correspondence to Bernard Enjolras .

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  1. Institutt for Social Research, Oslo, Norway

    Bernard Enjolras

  2. Department of Comparative Politics, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

    Kristin Strømsnes

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Enjolras, B., Strømsnes, K. (2018). The Transformation of the Scandinavian Voluntary Sector. In: Enjolras, B., Strømsnes, K. (eds) Scandinavian Civil Society and Social Transformations. Nonprofit and Civil Society Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77264-6_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77264-6_1

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