Retheorising Civil Society in State-Civil Society Partnership in Welfare : A Critical Review of the Partnership Literature

Abstract

In recent years, partnership has become a central strategy for welfare provision worldwide. Particularly, civil society organisations have obtained considerable attention as the most accountable and democratic partner for public welfare delivery. Yet the mainstreaming of civil into welfare policies challenges the conventional nature of civil society as an independent sector, and brings into critical question, how the political position of the civil society sector could be redefined in the new era of multi-sectoral partnership. The purpose of this study is to explore the rurrent debates of state-civil society partnershio and to propose three theoretical viewpoints mainstream, critical and alternative regarding the role of the civil society sector in partnership. in doing so, artcle introduces the key literature and scholars in partnership debates and provides analytical frameworks that researchers can uss in examining state-civil society partnership cases.