Copenhagen, 2024
Studying and analysing civil societies has been a permanent part of the research agenda in the Nordic countries the last 30-40 years. Many scholars have brought different theories and methods into this field of study in order to investigate the importance of civil society in a
Nordic context including the role of civil society in the development of the welfare state. Different traditions such as functionalist approaches, system theory or theories embedded in a rationalist conception of action can be found in the Nordic civil society traditions. Others have focused on the concept of civil society. Some has been looking into conceptual historical perspectives and others have chosen a more pragmatist approach. This workshop will investigate some of the different theoretical traditions we can trace in the
Nordic civil society research. We will discuss three issues: 1) What does ‘theorizing’ actually means in different civil society conceptualization and different theories?; 2) Is research in the Nordic countries dominated by one strong paradigm or are different theories competing providing different explanations? Can we even talk about an ‘orthodox consensus’?; 3) What are the consequences for ‘civil society’ that we use different ways of theorizing? Does it have any implications for politics and/or the day-to-day life of ordinary people? Contact: Lars Bo Kaspersen, lbk.mpp@cbs.dk.
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