Modernizing Democracy brings together scholars focusing the role of associations and associating in contemporary societies. Organizations and associations have been identified as the "meso level of society" and as the "basic elements of democracy". They are important providers of welfare services and play an important role between the individual and political spheres. In recent years the environment of associations and associating has changed dramatically. Individualization, commercialization and globalization are challenging both democracy and the capability of associations to fulfill the functions attributed to them by social sciences. This change provides the central question of the volume: Is being part of an organization or association becoming an outdated model? And do associations still have the capacity of modernizing societies or are they just outdated remnants of post-democracy? The contributions to Modernizing Democracy will be organized into: Studying Association and Associating in the 21st Century, Associating in Times of Post-Democracy and Associations and the Challenge of Capitalist Development. The book will be attractive to third sector researchers as well as a broader academic community of political scientists, sociologists, economists, legal scientists and related disciplines.

Modernizing Democracy brings together scholars focusing the role of associations and associating in contemporary societies. Organizations and associations have been identified as the "meso level of society" and as the "basic elements of democracy". They are important providers of welfare services and play an important role between the individual and political spheres. In recent years the environment of associations and associating has changed dramatically. Individualization, commercialization and globalization are challenging both democracy and the capability of associations to fulfill the functions attributed to them by social sciences. This change provides the central question of the volume: Is being part of an organization or association becoming an outdated model? And do associations still have the capacity of modernizing societies or are they just outdated remnants of post-democracy? The contributions to Modernizing Democracy will be organized into: Studying Association and Associating in the 21st Century, Associating in Times of Post-Democracy and Associations and the Challenge of Capitalist Development. The book will be attractive to third sector researchers as well as a broader academic community of political scientists, sociologists, economists, legal scientists and related disciplines.

Gemeinnutzige oder Nonprofit-Organisationen (NPO) stehen aktuell vor vielfaltigen Herausforderungen. Diese problematisiert der Sammelband, indem er die Perspektive der Fallstudie wahlt. So wird anhand einer Vielzahl von Beispielen aufgezeigt, wie NPOs in unterschiedlichen Konstellationen auf veranderte Rahmenbedingungen reagieren koennen. Sie illustrieren, wie Probleme in der Praxis angegangen werden, welche Schwierigkeiten dabei auftreten und wie diese erfolgreich zu bewaltigen sind. Dabei wird ein breites Spektrum an Tatigkeitsfeldern, Problematiken und Loesungsansatzen abgedeckt. Der Schwerpunkt liegt weniger auf den Grossorganisationen des NPO-Sektors in Deutschland, sondern vielmehr auf den kleineren Organisationen und ihren Bedarfen, innovativen Ansatzen und Problemloesungsstrategien.

In dem Band werden anhand umfangreicher empirischer Befunde die arbeitsmarktrelevanten Funktionen des Dritten Sektors aus der Sicht gemeinnutziger Organisationen untersucht.
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Rund 600.000 Vereine sind gegenwartig als gemeinnutzige Organisationen des Dritten Sektors in den Vereinsregistern eingetragen; jahrlich kommen ca. 15.000 neu hinzu. Vereine sind Ausdruck von Selbstorganisation und Gemeinsinn. Dieser Band vermittelt ein facettenreiches Bild der Vereine als politische, soziale und auch wirtschaftliche Akteure.