Substituting for the State? Friendship Societies in Germany

Bibliographic Data

ID12250026
AuthorsMatthias Freise (0000-0001-6503-068X, corresponding author)
Year2016
Volume28
Issue1
Pages184-203
Publication date2016-06-08
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueVoluntas Revista Internacional de Filosofia (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2179-3786 • E-ISSN: 1573-7888
PublisherSpringer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1007/s11266-016-9741-0
OpenAlexW2417897802
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited20

Friendship societies are a specific type of voluntary associations that aim primarily to support a definable public benefit purpose—either an activity or a public or nonprofit entity. Over the past 20 years, these organizations have been mushrooming in Germany and elsewhere. More than 75,000 friendship societies are currently registered in Germany alone, and meanwhile they account for the majority of newly established associations. However, the general public typically perceives them as unreliable substitutes for the overburdened state. To assess whether these organizations can actually be reduced to this substitution function, the article draws on qualitative interviews with 70 chairpersons from various friendship societies in a German municipality. The study shows that friendship societies do much more than merely assuming responsibility for public benefit purposes and suggests focusing further research on the participatory potential of these associations

Citizen journalism · Friendship · Geography · German · Political science · Public relations · Social science · Sociology · State (computer science · Law · Nonprofit Sector and Volunteering · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies · Social Capital and Networks

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