The Role of Civil Society Organisations in the Slovenian Welfare System during the Transition Period after 1990

Abstract

The authors examine the development of the civil society sector in Slovenia and its role in the country's welfare system. They emphasise the 'boom' in the growth of civil society organisations, notably in the legal form of associations during the 1980s and 1990s. They argue that although civil society organisations rapidly proliferated at this time, they did not become more professionalised or financially stable. In the 1990s, a relationship of complementarity between the public/state and civil society sectors was established in Slovenia's welfare system, though civil society organisations exerted little influence on public policies directed towards the provision of social protection and other contributions to people's welfare.