Contextualizing Civic Engagement: A Configurational Approach to CSO-State Interactions

• In Event: 20861 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 7: Interactions between Movement Actors and Institutional Players

Abstract

This paper develops a contextualized and configurational approach to civic engagement, emphasizing civil society organizations (CSOs) and their interactions with states. Based on whether CSOs rely on weak vs. strong network ties and inclusive vs. exclusive norms, we propose a fourfold typology: universalist, communitarian, particularist, and populist engagement. Likewise, states develop liberal vs. co-optive networks and follow democratic vs. autocratic norms, producing four state response types: pluralist, corporatist, state-dominated, and containment. By integrating CSO-state configurations, our framework moves beyond the “bright” and “dark” binary to explain how civic engagement varies across political regimes. We highlight the relational dynamics of alignment and conflict between CSOs and states, offering a comparative lens for understanding state-society relations across democratic, hybrid, and authoritarian contexts in both the Global North and Global South.

Authors

• Gregory Jackson, Freie Universitaet Berlin

• Sumrin Kalia, Free University of Berlin