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.

This longitudinal study shows that scouts have higher incomes than others 14 years after their participation when controlling for social background, sex, and individual cognitive tests. But scouting has no significant effects on future criminality. Social exclusion and criminal behaviour are so marginal that they require more specific types of explanations. The results can be interpreted as signs that taking part in scouts significantly contributes as a step in the social pathway to the upper classes of society. By supporting scouting, the welfare state seems not to prevent problem behaviour but runs the risk of contributing to social stratification.

Patient organizations such as those in Sweden face individualization processes on two fronts, both in their own voluntary sector and in the healthcare sector. The aim of this study is to investigate how the patient organizations are handling the two-front individualization process internally in their organizations, as well as externally towards a more patient-centred healthcare system.With more diverse stakeholders and individual patients given increased influence, we would expect a corresponding adjustment in the strategies of the patient organizations. The article’s focus is on the organizations’ representative role, and theories on advocacy strategies are used to identify the nature of the patient organizations’ advocacy work. To find out how adjustments are made, 17 semi-structured interviews were conducted with representatives from local branches of three large Swedish patient organizations. The interviews show a low tendency to adjust as a response to this two-front individualization and illustrate a paralyzed rather than modified behaviour in these organizations. Individualization being a global trend, we believe these results are of interest to scholars of collective participation in all parts of the world.

The reasons people have to give money to charities varies between different societal settings. This article explores the interaction between individual and social reasons to give in Sweden, a country representing a distinct type of such settings. The purpose of the article is to addresses not only the question of how much that is donated and to what, but to also provide an interpretation of why people give and what it means to give in this national context. Social origins theory is used to analyse results gathered from a national survey on civic participation in Sweden. The results show that giving in Sweden is widespread, small-scale and relatively uniform across different groups of givers. It is concluded from this that giving is mainly a civil act performed for personal reasons and to a lesser degree a civic act with significance for the social standing of the donor.

History and traditions are important for many civil society organizations (CSOs). However, they have to mediate between their original mission and modern-day realities. This article argues that the concept of decoupling can enrich analyses of how organizations deal with path dependency. Hence, theoretically, the article discusses cross-fertilization between historical and organizational institutionalism. This is illustrated through a study of Swedish CSOs using survey data, interviews and documents. The Swedish popular movement tradition is argued to be a path that is not easily abandoned, and the results show how actors in CSOs find history to be both a resource and a constraint. Furthermore, different decoupling strategies, including both reversed and official decoupling, are used to balance between historical legacies and current challenges.