Governance and Regulation in the Third Sector brings together scholars and experienced practitioners from different countries to investigate the relationship between regulation and relational governance for the third sector in a comparative context. Each chapter reviews recent regulatory changes in the country in question. To what extent are there significant convergences in these reforms and what are the implications for the third sector? Is there any evidence that the foundational architecture for a more collaborative relationship between the state and the third sector has been laid?

Overall, the book reveals that the reality of the supposedly new collaborative relationships and the impacts of regulatory reform are quite different from what contemporary theories of public management would have us believe. Recognizing the gap between theory and reality, the chapters explore some of the outstanding challenges for regulatory reform for the third sector.