Abstract
The work on this volume started several years ago. Henrik Stenius invited a number of scholars from different academic disciplines to a workshop at the Renvall Institute at the University of Helsinki. Simultaneously, he extended an offer to us all to form a research network on European Voluntary Associations in the Modern and Contemporary Period. Through a generous and flexible grant from NordForsk, the research agency under the auspices of the Nordic Council of Ministers, we were able to hold a series of workshops.