Definition
Research on civil society in Russia is characterized by a variety of disciplinary and methodological approaches. Social scientists point out a substantive blur of the concept used in multiple ways (Jensen, 2006). Definitions of civil society suggested by Russian social scientists can be divided into several groups. Value-based definitions identify civil society as “democratic,” “pluralistic,” and “open.” Spatial definitions use metaphors of sphere or space conceptualizing civil society as a certain social and sociocultural space and stressing its independence from the state. Subject-based concepts define civil society through its actors: individuals, groups, and voluntary associations of citizens, the combination of which forms the institutional structure of the third sector (Mersianova, 2011). We understand civil society as a sphere of human activity outside of family, the state, and the market, which is created by individual and collective actions, norms, values, and...
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Jakobson, L., Mersianova, I., Ivanova, N. (2022). Civil Society and Social Capital in Russia. In: List, R.A., Anheier, H.K., Toepler, S. (eds) International Encyclopedia of Civil Society. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99675-2_638-1
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