Civil Society and Social Movements
The research area conducts research linked to changes in the public sector and civil society with a special focus on welfare policy and social work. Research projects in the field study the changing conditions and organization of welfare, as well as how civil society is affected by, affects, and is involved in the development of the welfare state. In the area, comparative analyzes are made of civil societies in different countries and studies on how Europeanisation affects Swedish civil society.
First formed in the autumn of 2008, CSSA is a research group focusing on civil society from the social work perspective, lead by professors Anna Meeuwisse and Håkan Johansson. The group builds on a tradition at Lund University's School of Social Work to conduct research on voluntary social work. One overall area of interest is the study of changing conditions of welfare systems and organisation and how NGOs are affected by and involved in shaping the development of the welfare state. The group includes researchers associated with the School of Social Work, as well as PhD students and researchers from other universities.
Research themes:
The affiliated researchers work with a variety of research projects that relate to the voluntary sector / NGOs for development at local, national and international level. Primarily, NGOs are analysed in light of a changing welfare state and what consequences this has for organisations, such as how the welfare state reforms affects organisations' roles as the advocates and service providers.
Several research projects also have an international focus and study, for example, sharing ideas and organisational models between countries and comparing the voluntary sectorss structure and organisation of the different types of welfare states. A central theme is how an increased supranationalisation affect the voluntary organisations on a national level. This means, for example, various EU initiatives with the objective of influencing the member states' social policy, a new political opportunity structure for NGOs representing disadvantaged groups?
Latest publications within the area
Pathways to Sustainable Welfare: Inertia, Emergence and Transformation in Swedish Cities
Pathways to Sustainable Welfare: Inertia, Emergence and Transformation in Swedish CitiesEmilsson, K., Fritz, M., Hilding...Funktionshinder och sexualitet: berättelser om lust, längtan och motstånd
Funktionshinder och sexualitet: berättelser om lust, längtan och motståndBahner, J., 2025 Jan 17, Gleerups Utbildning AB...Who's the real feminist? Discursive boundary making in the context of anti-gender campaigns
Who's the real feminist? Discursive boundary making in the context of anti-gender campaignsMeeuwisse, A., Jacobsson, K.,...Food Assistance in Nordic Welfare states – Questions of Ambiguity and Dignity
Food Assistance in Nordic Welfare states – Questions of Ambiguity and DignityLinde, S., Söderberg, M., Leo Sandberg, E.,...Food aid professionals’ thoughts on the dignity of visitors while maintaining their own
Food aid professionals’ thoughts on the dignity of visitors while maintaining their ownSöderberg, M., Leo Sandberg, E. &...
Research Portal
Read more about our research, researchers and research output.
Civil Society Elites?
Comparing elite composition, reproduction, integration and contestation in European civil societies
DigRep – Representation in the digital era
Democratic consequences of changing engagement in the Swedish disability movement
In debt – Young adults and the dimensions of guilt
Over-indebtedness amongst young adults creates difficulties when entering adulthood and tends to be a long-term problem.