The Dubious Link Civic Engagement and Democratization [Hardcover]

It is often argued that civic activity, such as the participation of average citizens in voluntary associations, benefits all democracies. But sometimes the involvement of citizens contributes to the collapse of democracy, the exclusion of minorities, and the deepening of society's fragmentation. This book challenges the idea of a positive, universal connection between civil society and democracy, and argues that the specific context in which people organize shapes the character of civil society.The Dubious Linkexamines the dark side of civil societythe cases in which the participation of average citizens leads to undemocratic results. Combining a variety of research methods, Ariel Armony looks at the vital sphere of associational life in pre-Nazi Germany, anti-desegregation movements in the United States, and new organizations for human and civil rights in democratic Argentina. The book concludes with a statistical analysis of the impact of civil society on a set of contemporary democracies.Ariel C. Armony is assistant professor of government at Colby College. He is the author ofArgentina, the United States, and the Anti-Communist Crusade in Central America, 1977-1984and coeditor ofRepression, Resistance, and Democratic Transition in Central America. By challenging conventional wisdom, the book makes a valuable contribution to ongoing debates about the conditions under which democracy can be expected to function well. In doing so, it opens up promising new avenues for research into the links between deep social inequalities and the practice of democracy. This book is a critical advancement of our understanding of civil society's role in the state-society relations of modern democracy. With its clear structure and in-depth case studies, it is an invaluable contribution to political science, sociology, legal studies, and Latin American studies. Mark Ungar, Brooklyn College, The City University of New York The question of whether and how civlB