Introduction: The role of civil society in healthcare systems reforms

The articles in this Special Issue of Social Science & Medicine document the influence of the growing involvement of civil society in the health sector internationally. They examine the multiple, and, in some cases contested, roles that civil society organisations (CSOs) can play in response to both demand-related strains on health systems and changes in the role and structures of the state. To set a context for the articles which follow, this introduction situates civil society and CSOs generally within the contemporary crisis of health systems, considers their role as a tool of health governance, and draws attention to the contested theoretical and definitional issues which surround research and practice on their role in the delivery of care and health advocacy, and their place in health systems reform.