The Four C's of Government Third Sector‐Government Relations

Abstract

Abstract All over the world, we see trends of increasing interaction between governments and the third sector. Is this the “start of a beautiful friendship” or are they already “too close for comfort”? This article argues that the nature of these complex relationships is poorly understood and often simplified. It proposes a four‐C framework based on institutional interests and preferences for policy ends and means—cooperation in the case of similar ends and similar means, confrontation in the case of dissimilar ends and dissimilar means, complementarity in the case of similar ends but dissimilar means, and co‐optation in the case of dissimilar ends but similar means.