We compare the development of the third sector in Scotland and Quebec, which have developed ecosystems that distinguish them from the liberal non-profit regimes of the UK and Canada. We employ an institutional logics framework to consider how the rules, practices, values and beliefs of these ‘stateless nations’ have formed unique structures and identities of the third sector that diverge from their broader national context. Our model demonstrates how the development of the welfare state and approaches to implementing social policy, government–third sector relationships, civic nationalism and solidarity interact in an iterative process to create distinct third sectors.
The third sector: resolving the crisis of the welfare state