Governance and Regulation in the Third Sector brings together scholars and experienced practitioners from different countries to investigate the relationship between regulation and relational governance for the third sector in a comparative context. Each chapter reviews recent regulatory changes in the country in question. To what extent are there significant convergences in these reforms and what are the implications for the third sector? Is there any evidence that the foundational architecture for a more collaborative relationship between the state and the third sector has been laid? Overall, the book reveals that the reality of the supposedly new collaborative relationships and the impacts of regulatory reform are quite different from what contemporary theories of public management would have us believe. Recognizing the gap between theory and reality, the chapters explore some of the outstanding challenges for regulatory reform for the third sector.

1. Introduction: Between Governance and Regulation:Evolving Government-Third Sector Relationships Susan D. Phillips and Steven Rathgeb Smith 2. The Case of England and Wales: Striking the Right Balance of 'Hard' Law versus'Soft' Law Debra Morris 3. Third Sector Regulation in Post-Devolution Scotland: Kilting the Charity Cuckoo Patrick Ford 4. Between Relational Governance and Regulation of the Third Sector: The Irish Case Gemma Donnelly-Cox and Siobhan Mcgee 5. Creeping Marketization and Post-Corporatist Governance: The Transformation State-Nonprofit Relations in Continental Europe Ingo Bode 6. Government Nonprofit Sector Relations In Hungary: Aspirations, Efforts and Impacts Éva Kuti 7. Gatekeeper Governance: The European Union and Civil Society Organizations Alison Dunn 8. The Government-Nonprofit Relationship in the United States: New Challenges and Possibilities Steven Rathgeb Smith 9. Incrementalism at its Best, and Worst: Regulatory Reform and Relational Governance in Canada Susan D. Phillips 10. Australia: A Continuing Love Affair with the New Public Management Mark Lyons and Bronwen Dalton 11. Global Perspectives on the Legal Framework for Civil Society and Relational Governance Douglas Rutzen