What is Civil Society?

Civil society refers to the rich diversity of associations, non-profit organizations, faith-based communities, and other such phenomena, which neither constitute a part of the market nor of the public sector. These activities have a plethora of purposes ranging from political lobbying and social welfare to non-profit economic activity. It is common to define civil society as one of several spheres of society, along with state, market, and family.

At Ersta Sköndal University College the emphasis has traditionally been on the social dimension of civil society, what in practice is known as ‘voluntary social work’, including the institutionalized social services provided by voluntary and non-profit organizations as well as the informal social care carried out by family members, friends, and neighbours.  Examples of civil society organizations with a social welfare orientation are The Red Cross, Save the Children, and the Swedish temperance organization IOGT-NTO.