Volunteering and Social Activism: Moving beyond the Traditional Divide

This article introduces the special issue of the Journal of Civil Society on 'volunteering and social activism'. We think research and the scholarly debate on civil society for too long have ignored important research questions that start at the crossroads of the ideal types of the 'altruistic volunteer' and the 'political activist'. Behind the idea of pulling together a special issue was an ambition to open up an avenue for research and dialogue between two research traditions that, in our opinion, have had too little inspiring effect on each other. The special issue includes four articles that all raise important challenges to the impression of volunteering and social activism as separate and disconnected forms of civic engagement.