"Civil society and the Citizen" 11th Conference of the International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR), Muenster, July 22- 25 2014

Founded in 1992, the International Society for Third-Sector Research (ISTR) is universally recognized as the international academic association of researchers engaged in the study of civil society, the nonprofit sector, philanthropy, and related fields. 

In recent years, the future of society as such has become a pressing concern. While security issues seemingly dominate government action, more and more nation states are coming under pressure from their own citizens. Some political analysts have diagnosed a crisis of representative democracy and argued for a stronger role of civil society. Citizen action, citizen initiatives, and protest movements have gained in importance. Citizen participation has become a key issue for governments, with a plethora of different meanings attached to it. Furthermore, the question of what civil society can bring to the table in attempting to attack the global challenges of the 21st century, has become a point of particular attention. While some governments and the corporate sector would like to see civil society primarily in the role of service providers, citizens are increasingly aware of the political mandate of civil society. 

Call for papers until 23th October