Civil Society and Activism in Europe - Contextualizing engagement and political orientations

This book examines the role of civil society organizations in several advanced European democracies: Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Specifically the book focuses on how voluntary organizations contribute to civic and democratic health and assesses the impact of different organizational types on social capital. Building on Citizenship and Involvement in European Democracies and Social Capital and Associations in Europe (2007), this volume seeks to widen and deepen the analysis by introducing new data on activists and combining it with the organizational data and the population data. It evaluates the impact of the organizational context on individual activity profiles and attitudes and values of activists and provides a unique assessment on the contribution that voluntary associations make to civil and democratic society. Part One deals with the consequences of associational involvement for several attitudinal and behavioural orientations and Part Two expands the scope of the effects of voluntary associations towards European attitudes. This book is essential reading for students and scholars of civil society, democracy, political participation, politics and sociology.

1. Introduction: Contextualizing Civil Society in European Communities Jan W. van Deth and William A. Maloney Part 1: General Social and Political Orientations 2. Mobilising Voluntary Work: The Interplay between Organizations and Municipalities Tobias Schulz 3. Governing Associations: Member Involvement and Efficacy toward Associational Decision-Making Herman Lelieveldt 4. Associations and Political Empowerment Bangu Dayican, Bas Denters and Henk van der Kolk 5. The Associational Impact on Political Interest Jan W. van Deth 6. Civil Society Organizations as ‘Little Democracies’? Patrick Bernhagen and William Maloney Part 2: European Political Orientations 7. Voluntary Associations and Support for Europe: Is there a ‘Europeanised’ Civil Society? Manuela Caiani and Mariona Ferrer-Fons 8. EU Legitimacy and Social Capital. Empirical Insights into a Complex Relationship Sonja Zmerli 9. Relational Basis of Attachment to Europe Hajdeja Iglic 10. Political Trust in the EU: Active Idealists and Rational Non-Actives in Europe? Silke Keil 11. In Conclusion: Activists, Active People, and Citizens in European Communities Jan W. van Deth and William A. Maloney