Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. Civil society and philanthropy in Africa are regularly theorized in formal terms and oft perceived as inherently democratizing forces. Yet, existing evidence exposes the limitations of these assumptions. This article provides an introduction to the symposium issue on civil society and philanthropy in Africa. The objective of the introduction, and the articles contained in the symposium, is to examine important questions related to civil society and philanthropy on the continent: What is the complex history and role of civil society and philanthropy in Africa? How have donor dependence and professionalization affected the effectiveness of the third sector? What are the contours of the relationship between the state and civil society? We ask these crucial questions in an attempt to provide a more nuanced and contextualized understanding of civil society and philanthropy on the continent.

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