International Encyclopedia of Civil Society

2010 Edition
| Editors: Helmut K. Anheier, Stefan Toepler

Hybridity/Hybridization

  • Taco Brandsen
Reference work entry
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-93996-4_34

Introduction

The concept of hybridity refers to the mixing of civil society, market, and state. Its chief purpose has been to describe empirical developments that blur the boundaries between these domains or sectors. These developments have arguably made civil society less distinctive. As Frumkin has put it: “[T]he lines delimiting the sector have frequently been subject to challenge and revision, as funds and responsibilities have shifted back and forth among business, nonprofit and government organizations. Reaching consensus on the very definition of nonprofit and voluntary sector is difficult because many of the core features and activities of nonprofits increasingly overlap and compete with those of business and government” (Frumkin, 2002: 1).

The concept of hybridity has been enthusiastically embraced by a number of (especially European) scholars. At the same time, it has invited much criticism, both on theoretical and normative grounds. Theoretically, the concept tends to remain...

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References/Further Readings

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  3. Brandsen, T. (2004). Quasi-market governance: An anatomy of innovation. The Hague: Lemma.Google Scholar
  4. Brandsen, T., Van de Donk, W., & Putters, K. (2005). Griffins or chameleons? Hybridity as a permanent and inevitable characteristic of the third sector. International Journal of Public Administration, 28(9–10), 749–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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  17. Pestoff, V. (1998). Beyond the market & state: Civil democracy & social enterprises in a welfare society, Aldershot: Ashgate.Google Scholar
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010

Authors and Affiliations

  • Taco Brandsen
    • 1
  1. 1.Radboud University NijmegenNijmegenThe Netherlands