Der Diskurs der Zivilgesellschaft

Social Innovation and Civil Society in Urban Governance: Strategies for an Inclusive City

“…Within the lively debate in Germany since 1989 around the term civil society (Zivilgesellschaft and Bürgergesellschaft), the use of the term has been detached from the context of radical democratic actors (Klein, 2002). A Commission of Inquiry had even been formed by the German Federal Parliament to explore the potential of civil society (see Enquète-Kommission, 2001).…”

“…A political culture, a sense of community, seems to develop beyond the traditional institutional framework. This ambience is seen as necessary for a lively democracy as well as for a welfare society based on societal solidarity (Klein, 2002). Some nation-states, such as Great Britain or Germany, have launched new Leitbilder [leading frameworks] of social policy such as the 'activating state' and the 'enabling state'.…”

Bringing Society Back In: Civil Society, Social Capital and the Third Sector

“…However, its current popularity dates back to the 1970s when the term was used by dissidents and civic movements in Eastern Europe and Latin America in order to express their opposition against the ruling authoritarian regimes. Discussions that took place in these oppositional groups influenced debates on the further development of democratic theory in the Western Hemisphere (Klein 2001;Thaa 1996). The reentry of civil society in political discourse indicated a turning point with respect to democratic theory in political science.…”

“…Since the late 1950s democratic theory had been dominated by theories of representative democracy, which, according to Fritz Scharpf, primarily focus on the output legitimacy of democratic systems (Scharpf 1970;1999, 1.1.). With the "third wave of democratization", "input legitimacy", closely linked to various forms of participatory democracy, regained momentum in political science (Klein 2001;Schmalz-Bruns 1995;Young 2002). …”

Über Macht und Ehre in Vereinen und Verbänden: Ein Rückblick auf Forschung und Politik

“…Das Webersche Forschungsprogramm wurde gerade in jüngster Zeit wieder aufgegriffen und hat insbesondere durch die Arbeiten von Robert Putnam (Putnam & Goss, 2001) zum Sozialkapital sowie infolge des intensiv geführten Zivilgesellschaftsdiskurses (Klein, 2001) eine neue Aktualität gewonnen. Waren Vereine vom Mainstream der soziologischen Forschung eine geraume Zeit eher vernachlässigt worden, stehen sie inzwischen im Zentrum des Interesses der soziologischen Kultur-sowie Demokratieforschung.…”