O olhar sociológico sobre a sociedade civil, economias alternativas e o voluntariado

Abstract

Through a literature review, this article seeks to systematize the specificities of sociological analysis dealing with "civil society, alternative economies and volunteering". It is not intended to be exhaustive in the proposed approach, but rather to illustrate the diversity of sociological contributions within a field of research that is recent and growing over the last three decades. It is important to assumethat this is a multidisciplinary object and therefore the specificity of sociological analysismayappear dissolved. It is on the borderline with economics, management and political science, passing through various other disciplines, that sociologists, both academics and professionals, have made various contributions to the affirmation of the field. In Portugal, sociological research, although scarce, has contributed to the development and (late) institutionalization of the field itself. In conclusion, we emphasize that there is a specific sociological legacy for knowledge and intervention in this field and that, as in other fields, it denotes the theoretical and empirical variability of different traditions and geographical contexts.