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Elitism in Swedish civil society?

Roberto Scaramuzzino and Håkan Johansson participated in the yearly conference on civil society arranged by the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society (MUCF). The main theme this year was on elitism in civil society.

On the 22nd of October, civil society researchers, politicians, civil servants and civil society organizations gathered in Stockholm to discuss the question of elitism in Swedish civil society. 

The main question of the conference was whether the increased professionalization of civil society organizations leads to elitism and risks marginalizing voluntary engagement in civil society. 

From our research program Roberto Scaramuzzino and Håkan Johansson participated in the conference and gave a talk on the topic of inequality and power concentration within Swedish civil society.

The discussions throughout the day highlighted changes in the Swedish civil society in terms of forms of engagement, such as participation in demonstration and other strategies for societal influence. Another important topic discussed dealt with the question of to what extent new groups such as young people and newly arrived immigrants have access to activities, movements and organizaitons in Swedish civil society.

From our research program's point of view the conference not only reinforced our view of the relevance of the topic but also helps us to orient our research efforts to be more relevant for the actors involved.

The conference was arranged by the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society (Myndigheten för ungdoms- och civilsamhällesfrågor, MUCF).