Is community development sufficiently well equipped to deliver successful outcomes in the context of civil society and the challenges of the 21st century? That is the question we explore in this chapter. It is a pivotal chapter for three reasons: it expands on the five ways in which, in Chapter Two, we argue that community development can help communities to become part of civil society (challenging, defending, maintaining, recognising and strengthening civil society); it draws on the ideas presented in Chapters Four to Eight; and it anticipates the authors’ conclusions. By presenting first a Hungarian and then a UK perspective on community development's potential, the different emphases and meanings given to the concept of civil society can also be acknowledged. In a brief final section, we draw attention to the similarities and differences between the two perspectives.

A Hungarian perspective

A profession can never be satisfied with the results achieved in the past; it has to look for new directions and methods on a continuous basis. This is particularly true when a profession sets an arena for intervention that is broader and more comprehensive than anything before – civil society. We begin by reflecting on community development and the nature of change in the context of civil society.

Community development changes as society changes. It is constantly looking for areas where its special kind of intervention can be applied. In numerous areas its track record points to its potential for exerting influence on society, through settlements and community/cultural centres, community education, anti-poverty programmes, participation, multiculturalism, regeneration, rural development, community economic development, social planning and, to an increasing extent, civil society and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Since community development and change are inseparable, the former is constantly challenged by the development of society and communities to find and, if necessary, modify its optimal scope of action. Why and how does change take place in professional perspectives?

• • Change can occur when a threat arises that affects society as a whole, for example, a growing number of slums, an increase in the number of immigrants, an economic crisis or war. The need for developing civil society probably originates from two kinds of threats: the unsustainability of welfare systems and recognition that democracy is empty without a strong civil society. Citizens become indifferent and, due to the low level of participation, those in power increasingly fail to be legitimised.