Blurring the Boundaries between Political and Associational Civic Engagement: Insights from Serbia

Abstract Based on an analysis of qualitative data on emerging forms of civic engagement in Serbia, this article challenges the often-invoked distinction between political and associational forms of civic engagement. Drawing on empirical research conducted in 2021 and 2024 among community foundations, grassroots organizations, and smaller advocacy-oriented civil society organizations in Serbia, the article shows how political and associational forms of engagement intersect, revealing them to be deeply interrelated rather than distinct. In response, it introduces the concept and typology of permeable political–associational engagement, in which tactics from both spheres coexist and actively interweave and shape one another. This concept provides a useful perspective for cross-country third-sector research: in hybrid regimes, this reframing is essential to avoid misclassifying much of the activity as apolitical charity, while in liberal democracies, it clarifies why groups employ various tactics to preserve their maneuvering space amid polarization and populist counter-mobilization.