Participation and Democracy: Dynamics, Causes ... - Jacobs University

since they attribute a number of positive effects to the membership in these associations.
Next to the equality argument (only through pluralist forms of interest representation the
various, even conflicting, interests in a society can equally be protected and balanced,
see Schlozman, Verba and Brady 1999), mainly two kinds of organizational benefits are
discussed in the literature. The first one refers to the individual-level, the second one to
the aggregate level.
For one thing, civic benefits are attributed to the individual member(ship) in voluntary
associations. Through their engagement in groups, citizens do not only learn how to
cooperate with others for mutual benefit. Their work in an association, in particular the
sharing of information and knowledge about the objectives and routines, also equip them
with more competence and skills. Finally, the permanent contact and exchange with
others facilitates the adoption of civic virtues such as trust and tolerance among the
members of an association (Almond and Verba 1963: 322; Etzioni 1993; Putnam 1995a:
67; Bellah et al. 1996; Uslaner 2002).
Second, these individual civic skills, taken together, have important consequences for
the communal and democratic life in a society. Following the de Tocquevillian notion of
associations as “schools of democracy” (Tocqueville (2000 [1835/40]), Putnam argues
that such organizations provide platforms for face-to-face meetings which lead, on the
societal level, to dense social networks and the emergence of horizontal (social) trust
among the members of a society. In doing so, a vibrant associational life contributes to
the emergence of civic communities and produces high levels of social capital (Putnam
1993).
According to Putnam’s definition, social capital refers to “connections among
individuals – social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise
from them” (Putnam 2000: 19). It has been argued, for example, that societies with a
vibrant associational life and higher levels of social capital have more responsive,
accountable and effective political institutions, that their economy performs better, and
that they outperform societies where social capital is scarce in terms of lower crime
figures, better health and higher educational achievement (Putnam 1993; 1995a: 67;
Putnam 2000: 296-333; Smith 2001).
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