ABSTRACT
It has become a cliché to say that associations are back in-vogue. Debates about (the decline of) social capital, citizenship, civil society, social and political involvement in democratic societies represents some of the most contemporaneously ‘hot’ topics in the social sciences. There appears to be a widespread consensus that a revival of patterns of civic engagement and citizenship will compensate for the assumed deficiencies of modern democracies. ‘By associating with one another, we engage in camaraderie, cooperation, dialogue, deliberation, negotiation, competition, creativity, and the kinds of self-expression and self-sacrifice . . .’ (Gutmann 1998: 4). The contribution of associations is multifaceted – a dense, diverse and vibrant civil society is valorized for its intrinsic merit – as well as: acting as a barrier to the rise of totalitarian mass movements; a check on the tyranny of government; engendering ‘schools of democracy’; generating countervailing advocacy; positive externalities; enhancing ‘flexibility, responsiveness, choice, innovation, and user control in service delivery’; promoting social cohesion; encouraging and engendering cooperation, trust, reciprocity, respect, and the development of civic skills; and vehicles of self-government within which citizens are able to meaningfully participate in decisions that affect them (Roßteutscher 2005: 5; Kendall and Knapp 1996; McConnell 1969; Tocqueville 1969; Ware 1989).
