Civil Society Associations and Political Participation: A Normative Exploration

Abstract

This paper aims to explore the relation between civil society associations and political participation in a normative framework. Civil society associations are widely regarded as the basis for citizen involvement and participation, and as the location for democratic action. There is an increasing scholarly recognition that associationalism is essential for a healthy democratic society for the reason that it tends to strengthen democratic political culture. Associations encourage citizens to take part in public discourse and civic projects. And, thus they shape civic engagement. Through such participation and communicative interaction, identity formation also takes place. Associational members, as a result, learn public-spiritedness and democratic art of participation. It leads us to the debate on ascriptive and voluntary associations in civil society. At the same time, the notion of associational dichotomy is much contested. It is argued that exploration of the link between civil society associations and political participation calls for a much more intricate analysis that would entail going beyond associational dichotomy, particularly in the Indian context. The research presented in this paper, based on analysis of some prominent and relevant theoretical conceptions, aims to contribute to the ongoing debate on the relationship between civil society, active citizenship, and democracy.