Not just service providers: Why the third sector is a pillar of democracy

One of the clearest signals of the current crisis of democracies is the growing attack on intermediary bodies. Increasingly, anything that stands between citizens and political power is portrayed as unnecessary – if not harmful – and representation itself is seen as something to bypass. This narrative fuels populist and nationalist tendencies and risks weakening a fundamental pillar of democratic societies: the organised participation of citizens in public life.

This is not new. History shows that weakening organised civil society often goes hand in hand with democratic erosion. What is new, however, is the subtle way this happens today: not through outright repression, but through cultural and political narratives that reduce the value of collective organisation.

In this context, the role of the third sector goes far beyond delivering services or addressing social needs. Its core function is political in the highest sense of the word: enabling citizens to participate in shaping the common good.

Economist Raghuram Rajan described this imbalance effectively in The Third Pillar: when state and market grow stronger while communities weaken, democracy itself becomes more fragile. Only vibrant, organised communities can counterbalance both populist drifts and technocratic or oligarchic tendencies.

Italy offers a particularly telling example. It hosts one of the most widespread and dynamic third sector ecosystems in Europe, with over 360,000 organisations and around 4.7 million volunteers.
This dense network does more than provide services: it creates spaces where citizens engage, deliberate and take responsibility.

Importantly, this role is not just sociological – it is constitutional. The Italian Constitution explicitly recognises the value of social formations and enshrines the principle of subsidiarity, requiring public institutions to support citizens’ autonomous initiatives in pursuing the common good.
This legal framework acknowledges that democracy does not live in institutions alone, but also in the everyday practices of organised civic life.

Yet today, the third sector is increasingly interpreted through a reductive lens. It is often assessed using market criteria – efficiency, scalability, performance – under the assumption that market actors can pursue the public interest just as effectively. This “market gaze” risks erasing the distinction between community-driven action and service provision.

What gets lost in this shift is not only what the third sector does, but why and how it does it.

Motivation matters. The third sector is rooted in citizens’ willingness to act collectively for shared goals. Method matters too: participation, pluralism and deliberation are not by-products but essential features. These elements generate something that neither the state nor the market can produce alone – social capital.

Trust, solidarity, responsibility and civic awareness are not outputs that can be efficiently “delivered”; they are built through relationships and collective action. This is where the third sector makes its most significant contribution to democracy: by strengthening the social fabric that sustains it.

The current challenges facing the sector – its increasing instrumentalisation, the pressure to conform to market logics, and the marginalisation of community-based approaches – share a common root: a gradual loss of awareness about its deeper purpose.

Reclaiming that purpose is not just a matter for the sector itself. It is a broader democratic necessity.

If we reduce the third sector to a service provider, we risk weakening one of the few spaces where citizens still actively experience democracy – not as a system, but as a practice.