Handbook on Third Sector Policy in Europe: Multi-level Processes and Organized Civil Society

This Handbook is the first attempt to systematically examine, empirically and analytically, the contours of the third sector policy process in the European Union (EU). While scholarship on the social, economic and political contributions of organisations existing between the market and the state has proliferated in recent years, no sustained attention has previously been paid to how such organisations are collectively treated by, and respond to, public policy. The expert contributors examine the policy environment for, and evolving policy treatment of, the third sector in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom from a comparative perspective. They also look at how the third sector relates to multi-level European policy processes, including the Open Method of Co-ordination, the Community Method, nationally-led 'partnership' approaches within an overall EU framework and the United Nations International Year of Volunteering; an initiative implemented in the EU but originating externally. Providing a rich and compelling examination of a crucially important aspect of policymaking, this unique Handbook will fill a major gap in the knowledge of both general policy analysts and specialists in third sector studies. Researchers and students in the overlapping fields of organised civil society, voluntary and third sector studies and the non-profit sector will also warmly welcome this important book.

Table of Contents:
Contents: PART I: INTRODUCTION AND NATIONAL POLICY SITUATIONS 1. Terra Incognita: Third Sectors and European Policy Processes Jeremy Kendall 2. Germany: On the Social Policy Centrality of the Free Welfare Associations Annette Zimmer, Anja Appel, Claudia Dittrich, Chris Lange, Birgit Sittermann, Freja Stallmann and Jeremy Kendall 3. The Third Sector and the Policy Process in France: The Centralized Horizontal Third Sector Community Faced with the Reconfiguration of the State-centred Republican Model Laurent Fraisse 4. The UK: Ingredients in a Hyperactive Horizontal Policy Environment Jeremy Kendall 5. The Third Sector and the Policy Process in Italy: Between Mutual Accommodation and New Forms of (Blurred) Partnership Costanzo Ranci, Mauro Pellegrino and Emmanuele Pavolini 6. The Third Sector and the Policy Process in Spain: The Emergence of a New Policy Player Teresa Montagut 7. The Third Sector and the Policy Process in the Netherlands: A Study in Invisible Ink Taco Brandsen and Wim van de Donk 8. Sweden: When Strong Third Sector Historical Roots Meet EU Policy Processes Lars-Erik Olsson, Marie Nordfeldt, Ola Larsson and Jeremy Kendall 9. The Third Sector and the Policy Process in the Czech Republic: Self-Limiting Dynamics Pavol Frič PART II: MULTI-LEVEL POLICY CASES 10. The European Statute of Association: Why Still an Obscure but Contested Symbol in a Sea of Indifference and Scepticism? Jeremy Kendall and Laurent Fraisse 11. European Social Fund Local Social Capital Pilots and Mainstreamed Global Grants: On the Troubled Trajectory of Third Sector Policy Transfer Isabel Crowhurst and Jeremy Kendall 12. National Action Plans on Social Inclusion: Opportunities for the Third Sector? Taco Brandsen, Emmanuele Pavolini, Costanzo Ranci, Birgit Sittermann and Annette Zimmer 13. The European Employment Strategy, Social Economy and Employment Policy: Coordination Failure and Neglect in the Face of Fragmentation and Complexity Jeremy Kendall and Taco Brandsen 14. A New Settlement for Europe: Towards ‘Open, Transparent and Regular Dialogue with Representative Associations and Civil Society’? Catherine Will and Jeremy Kendall 15. The United Nations’ International Year of Volunteers: A Significant Non-EU Transnational Initiative for European Countries? Angela Ellis Paine, Jeremy Kendall and Simone Baglioni PART III: THE EU INSTITUTIONAL LEVEL AND CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS 16. The Third Sector and the Brussels Dimension: Trans-EU Governance Work in Progress Jeremy Kendall, Catherine Will and Taco Brandsen 17. Concluding Observations: A Diverse and Evolving Third Sector Policy Landscape Jeremy Kendall Glossary Index

About the Author :
Edited by Jeremy Kendall, Senior Lecturer, School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research (SSPSSR), University of Kent, Canterbury, UK

Review :
'This book will be a major resource for all those interested in the third sector policy environment in Europe. It is the product of extensive research collaboration, and Kendall has done an excellent job in bringing together the talents and knowledge of key researchers across the EU. There are detailed country based chapters and others exploring cross-cutting policy issues. Kendall brings these different perspectives together in overview chapters which explore, and explain, the developing European third sector policy landscape.' - Peter Alcock, University of Birmingham, UK