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Erik Lundberg
SVEN
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Civil Society, Organization and Democracy

Civil society organizations play a central role in democracy: they organize citizens, represent interests, create communities and connect citizens with public institutions. My research examines how these roles change as the relationship between the state and civil society is transformed.

I have studied civil society participation in policymaking, the development of the Swedish consultation system, collaboration between public institutions and nonprofit organizations, changing patterns of membership and organization, and civil society responses to political extremism.

A recurring theme is the tension between organizational autonomy and civil society's close relationship with the state.

Organizations facing the same extremist threat may adopt very different strategies, because organizational identity shapes what they understand as legitimate action.

4 selected studies

  • Peer-reviewed articleCivil Society, Organization and Democracy

    Organizational Identity and Civil Society’s Responses Against the Far Right

    2026Lundberg, E.Journal of Civil Society

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    Civil society organizations facing the same extremist threats can choose very different strategies. The study examines how three organizations in the same local context responded to the presence of the far-right Nordic Resistance Movement. The results show that the differences cannot primarily be understood in terms of the threat itself, but in terms of the organizations' identity and self-understanding. Organizational identity shapes which forms of resistance and action are perceived as legitimate and possible, and thereby helps explain why civil society's responses to extremism vary.

  • BookCivil Society, Organization and DemocracyCivic Engagement and Volunteering

    Civilsamhället i demokratin

    2026Lundberg, E., & Abdelzadeh, A.Lund: Studentlitteratur

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    The book shows that civil society's democratic significance is multifaceted. Organizations can represent interests, create opportunities for participation and community, and function as links between citizens and public institutions. Participation can also contribute to political knowledge, trust and other civic competences. At the same time, civil society is not democratic by definition. The book therefore discusses both its democratic potential and limitations, as well as how changed forms of organizing and relationships to the state affect its role.

  • Peer-reviewed articleCivil Society, Organization and Democracy

    No More Political Compromise? Swedish Commissions of Inquiry 1990–2016

    2021Dahlström, C., Lundberg, E., & Pronin, K.Scandinavian Political Studies

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    The study shows how the Swedish system of commissions of inquiry changed between 1990 and 2016. Broadly composed parliamentary commissions became increasingly rare and were largely replaced by single commissioners, while the representation of politicians declined and that of civil servants increased. The change means that the commissions to a lesser extent serve as arenas where political conflicts can be handled and compromises developed before the issues reach parliament.

  • Peer-reviewed articleCivil Society, Organization and Democracy

    Towards a New Social Contract? The Participation of Civil Society in Swedish Welfare Policymaking, 1958–2012

    2020Lundberg, E.Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations

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    The study follows civil society's participation in Swedish welfare policymaking over more than fifty years. The results show no dramatic transformation, but rather a slow change in which organizations take part and what role they play. Among other things, the share of advocacy-oriented organizations declines, while business organizations gain a stronger position – changes that reflect a more pluralist and market-oriented welfare system.

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