The Dubious Link: Civic Engagement and Democratization

Extract

The Dubious Link: Civic Engagement and Democratization. By Ariel C. Armony. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004. 312p. $55.00.

Ariel Armony's work provides a useful corrective to some of the more extravagant claims made on behalf of civil society, associationism, social capital, and “the third sector.” In particular, the crude claim that is sometimes made—namely, that high membership in voluntary associations leads uniquely to a higher quality of democracy—is roundly and justly criticized. “Civil society may or may not lead to democracy,” the author claims, “because what matters is the context in which people associate, not because association is inherently and universally positive for democracy” (p. 2).