Private Groups and Public Life: Social Participation and Political Involvement in Representative Democracies

The relevance of social participation and intermediary associations for democracy has been at the centre of approaches to democratic politics since the nineteenth century. More recently the rise of new states in Central and Eastern Europe and contemporary discussions about social conflict, civil society, communitarianism, and social capital have stimulated a revival of the subject. This study explores the changing role and functions of voluntary associations, intermediary organisations and other social movements in democratic societies. The contributors employ macro- and micro-perspectives to examine the relationship between social and political involvement in the democratic process. The contributors use previously unpublished empirical data from countries such as Britain, Germany, France, Denmark, Belgium, Norway and Spain. They find the structure of voluntary associations and intermediary organisations throughout these countries has changed significantly and their membership levels and relevance todemocratic decision-making have grown pointing to a changing, but not declining, democratic culture in Western Europe.