International Encyclopedia of Civil Society

Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2020.

Under the general editorship: R. List, H. Anheier, S. Toepler

More than a decade after the concept for the first edition of the International Encyclopedia of Civil Society emerged, civil society remains as contested and strategically located a concept as it was then, and, therefore, a very fruitful and intellectually lively field of research that has prompted examination of a variety of new aspects. 

Moreover, civil society and the people and organizations involved in it have been affected over the past decade by numerous political, economic, and social changes and events that have left their mark in new relationships, new approaches, and new actors. These developments necessitate updating of the substantive regional entries on civil society and social capital and on philanthropy. Furthermore, these developments have likely affected legal and regulatory frameworks affecting civil society and various types of organizations and approaches.

Additionally, research undertaken and published since the first edition has extended and deepened our understanding of many topics, from more general concerns such as definitions and theories of civil society to more specific issues such as those relating to organizational management.

Chapters

Corporate and Employer-Supported Volunteering

Krasnopolskaya I., , in: International Encyclopedia of Civil Society.: Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2020.

Corporate volunteering is a type of an organized prosocial behavior which is often defined as the dedication of time, knowledge, or skills by an employee through a planned activity for an external social purpose, nonprofit, charitable group, or organization (Grant 2012; Rodell et al. 2016). Corporate volunteering is organized, encouraged, supported, and/or facilitated by an employer during ...

Added: June 20, 2020

Civil Society and Social Capital in Russia

Jakobson L. I., Mersiyanova I. V., Ivanova N., , in: International Encyclopedia of Civil Society.: Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2020. P. 1–6.

Research on civil society in Russia is characterized by a variety of methodological approaches. We understand civil society as a sphere of human activity outside of family, the state and the market. To date, there is a broad spectrum of types of financial and non-financial support for NPOs including informational, consulting and educational support. A ...

Added: November 1, 2022

Philanthropy in Russia and Central Asia

Jakobson L. I., Irina Mersianova, Natalya Ivanova, , in: International Encyclopedia of Civil Society.: Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2020. P. 1–9.

Without Abstract ...

Added: July 3, 2023

Volunteering in Russia and Central Asia

Jakobson L. I., Ivanova N., Mersiyanova I. V., , in: International Encyclopedia of Civil Society.: Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2020. P. 1–6.

Volunteering is a complex phenomenon spanning a wide variety of activities, organization types, and sectors. Analysis of widely used definitions of the term allowed the identification of four common dimensions: volunteer nature of the activity; the nature of the reward; and activity context, formal or informal, and the beneficiary type. All of the aforementioned vary from ...

Added: November 30, 2024

Warm Glow (2025)

Mersiyanova I. V., Ivanova N., , in: International Encyclopedia of Civil Society.: Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2020. P. 1–5.

The warm glow research draws on the concepts of pure and impure altruism. Pure altruism assumes that individuals give purely because there is a need to give and people simply demand more public goods (Saito, 2015). In other words, the sole motive for charitable giving is the utility derived from the charity’s output. Impure altruism ...

Added: December 1, 2025

Keywords: гражданское общество, некоммерческие организации, civil society, nonprofit organization