ABSTRACT
This rather broad definition allows for linking the changes through time of the relative importance of various civil-society organizations, with reference to political, economic, social and cultural changes. After a brief reference to civil society in Chile before and during the military dictatorship of Pinochet, and against the background of the structural and cultural factors affecting the interrelations under the present democratic regime, I will analyse two current cases of anti-poverty policies from the perspective of the four contending frameworks under discussion here. In conclusion, I suggest the emergence of frameworks somewhat different from the ones used up to now.
