ABSTRACT
Nonprofits and civil society groups play a critical role in shaping politics and political participation at all levels of government. While nonprofits’ political roles are often equated with advocacy, this chapter departs from the notion of nonprofits as interest groups, instead focusing on ways that nonprofits and civil society groups mobilize citizens for direct action. This chapter examines three specific mechanisms for nonprofit and civil society groups to increase individual political participation and to make democracy more inclusive. First, we examine protest politics and social movements, highlighting some specific global movements and the lessons they reveal for organizations and individual organizers. Second, we examine the roles of nonprofit and civil society groups in expanding voter participation in democratic societies. Finally, we examine some ways that nonprofits build civic and political leadership.
