Voluntary Sector

With case studies from around the world, this accessible book explores the methodological complexities of research into voluntary action, charitable behaviour and participation in voluntary organisations.

Exploring why food aid exists and the deeper causes of food poverty, this book addresses neglected dimensions of traditional debates. It challenges neoliberal governmentality and shows how food charity maintains inequalities of class, race, religion and gender.

Drawing on place-based field investigations and new empirical analysis, this original book investigates civil society at local level.

Ciaran Hughes and Markus Ketola explore the consequences of neoliberal policies on the voluntary sector in Northern Ireland. They trace the changing relationships between government and voluntary organisations since the Good Friday Agreement and lessons about the impact of neoliberal policies on governance, relationships and the peace process.

During the consolidation of the Welfare State in the 1940s, and its reshaping in the 2010s, the boundaries between the state, voluntary action, the family and the market were called into question. This book explores the impact of these ‘transformational moments’ on the role, position and contribution of voluntary action to social welfare.

What Have Charities Ever Done for Us? uses case studies and interviews to illustrate how charities support people and communities, foster heritage and culture and pioneer responses to crucial social, ethical and environmental questions.

Rich in case study insights, this book provides an overview of city-region building and considers how governance restructuring shapes political, economic, social and cultural landscapes. Reviewing city regions in Britain, the authors address the tensions and opportunities for local elites and civil society actors.

This enlightening book challenges conventional distinctions between the family and civil society as it uncovers how civic values and practices are inherited and fostered within the home.

Challenging conventional thinking, leading academics explore how individuals’ relationships with civil society change over time as different lifecourse events and stages trigger and hinder civic engagement and political participation, and highlight the implications for those promoting greater civic and political engagement.

As marketisation and privatisation reshape the criminal justice system, this illuminating overview sets out their causes, scale and impacts.

With case studies and economic, sociological and criminological perspectives, leading academics consider the evolving roles of public, private and voluntary sectors and possible future reforms.

We praise those people who do things for others. But the symbolic power of giving means glow of 'goodness' that charity provides can be taken advantage of. Drawing on original data and Bourdieu's sociology, this book examines a wide range of charity examples to provide an entertaining critique of how contemporary charity works.

The strengths, weaknesses and enforcement of concepts of international human rights receive a new social policy perspective in this insightful review of a pressing debate. Drawing on examples from around the world, it sets out the evolving role of universal rights in domestic and international policy and human welfare.