Interstitial Institutions: A Conceptual Development

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    Abstract

    Within the framework of civil sphere theory (CST), the performativity of the interstitial and liminal organizations (Turner 1969: 128; Alexander & Mast, 2006) has lately been identified as a significant player in translations and meditations between non-civil and civil spheres (Alexander & Tognato 2018: 10; Egholm, 2019) highlighting the border-crossing aspect of interstitial institutions, located across a variety of spheres and capable of turning destructive intrusion into civil repair (Olave 2018: 67, 73). These current analyses advance and nuance interactional studies of informal, decentralized modes of blurring boundaries (Shimizu 2018; Stack 2018), scrutinizing how “interstitial institutions” mediate the boundary messiness (Olave 2018: 67; Tognato 2018). Nevertheless, there is still a need to develop a more precise definition of interstitial institutions and their translating and meditating potentials. What does it apply, and what do we gain by using the concept? By studying the historical example of Danish philanthropic organizations in the development of the Danish welfare state, the paper will show how and why interstitial organizations emerge and what it takes for them to be successful in purifying non- or even anti-civil qualities and translating them to the civil sphere.
    Original languageEnglish
    Publication date2021
    Number of pages1
    Publication statusPublished - 2021

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