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Article: Civic engagement and voluntary associations: reconsidering the role of the governance structures of advocacy groups.
- Article from:
- Polity
- Article date:
- July 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Palgrave Macmillan, a Division of Macmillan Publishers Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Introduction
Despite the ubiquity of politically oriented voluntary associations, observers of trends in civic engagement remain unimpressed by the opportunities for civic participation available to members of such groups. Scholars have argued, for example, that check-writing is now the dominant form of member participation within such groups. (1) This activity hardly seems to satisfy the requirements of authentic civic engagement, which "implies meaningful connections among citizens and among citizens, issues, institutions and the political system. It implies voice and agency, a feeling of power and effectiveness, with real opportunities to have a say. It ...