Faced with falling social cohesion governments have sought to revitalise society by trying to reconstruct local communities, civil society and citizenship. As a result, civil society is increasingly brought within the realm of public management, subject to accountability and embedded in hierarchies the impact and origins of which this book explores

1. Manufacturing Civil Society: An Introduction 2. 'You're either with us or against us': Manufacturing Civility in the Netherlands 3. Diversity and Ambiguity in the English Third Sector: Responding to Contracts and Competition in Public Services Delivery 4. How Viable is the Big Society? Perceptions from Environmental NGOs in the UK 5. Civil Society Organisations as a Government Steering Mechanism: A cComparison between Sport Associations and Patient Organisations in the Netherlands 6. New forms of Dependency in Central and Eastern Europe? Reflections on the State-third Sector Relations in Public Service Provision in Post-Communist Countries 7. New challenges for the Cooperation between Civil Society and Public Sector - The Federal Volunteer Service in Germany 8. Public Governance of Welfare Services in Italy 9. The Autonomy of Organized Civil Society in Strategic Policy Decision Making: A Resource Dependence Perspective 10. Controlling or Empowering Non-Profit Organizations?: Dimensions of Accountability in Singapore 11. Active Citizenship: From Panacea to Political Program. In Search of an Appealing Narrative