Abstract

Social tolerance is often understood as an individual attitude or a set of pre-defined normative values, whereas in practice, this concept is socially constructed within the context of social interactions, collective action spaces, and institutional networks. The present study aims to explain how social tolerance is socially constructed from the perspective of non-governmental organization (NGO) activists. This research adopts a qualitative approach, using thematic analysis to analyze data collected through semi-structured interviews with 20 activists from NGOs operating in social, cultural, and support domains, selected via purposive sampling. The data analysis identified three overarching themes: tolerance as a relational, power-laden, and asymmetric phenomenon; the contextual conditionality of tolerance; and the gap between the principle of tolerance and tolerant action. The findings indicate that social tolerance is not a stable normative condition, but rather a relational process intertwined with power dynamics, which can be either enabled or constrained depending on specific institutional and cultural contexts.