The third sector's social and political dimensions: European contributionsto the theory of social protection and the plural economy.

According to the prevailing models in English texts, the third sector refer s to the non-profit organizations that provide alternative goods and servic es. Contrary to this reductionist, one-dimensional approach, a socio-politi cal analysis is proposed that defines the third sector as a component of 'p ublic space in civil societies'. This sector is not independent; it lies at the intersection between the state, the marketplace and the informal secto r. Linking these various spaces and combining various resources and social rationalities, this sector is characterized by the diversity of the 'modes of hybridization' used by associations in the sector. The latter thus contr ibute to the socialization of the welfare state while opening new 'spaces f or democratic debate and civic involvement. This approach enables us to pla ce the third sector at the centre of the system of 'plural social protectio n', which characterizes modern democratic welfare systems, and to reformula te current debates, by providing them with a theoretical basis, on 'social citizenship' and the participatory economy. (C) 2000 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.