Between State and Voluntary Action: the Evolution of the Italian Third Sector

Seen from a long-term perspective the evolutionary process of the Italian Third Sector could be summarized in the formula “from voluntary action to the State and back.” Trying to reconstruct this path, through its main evolutionary stages (from the Italian Unification to recent times) this contribution highlights how complex has been the relationship between the State and the Third Sector. It emerges a dialectical relationship in which the main actors of the Italian social protection system State, Market, and Non-profit sector are still looking for a balanc