Editorial changes have been underlined AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW or otherwise noted on this proof. The Structural Contexts of Civic Engagement: Voluntary Association Membership in Comparative Perspective Evan Schofer University of Minnesota Marion Fourcade-Gourinchas Princeton University and New York University Voluntary association membership varies dramatically among nations, by both the number and the type of associations that people join. Two distinctions account for much of this variation: (1) the distinction between statist versus nonstatist (some- times called “liberal”) societies, and (2) the distinction between corporate versus noncorporate societies. These two dimensions summarize historically evolved differ- ences in state structure, political institutions, and culture of nations that channel, legitimate (or deligitimate), and encourage (or discourage) various types of associa- tional activity. Membership in associations in 32 countries is examined using data from the 1991 World Values Survey; hierarchical models estimate the effects of indi- vidual-level and country-level factors on individual association membership. Results show that statism constrains individual associational activity of all types, particu- larly in “new” social movement associations. Corporateness, however, positively affects membership, particularly for “old” social movements. Finally, temporal trends indicate some convergence toward Anglo-American patterns of association. I Refs say n contemporary nation-states, vol- untary associations are important bodies that mediate between the individual and the broader societal environment. Following de Tocqueville’s ([1862] 1981) early state- ments on the different political organization of America and Europe, political scientists and sociologists have noted that people of different countries and regions vary in their involvement in associational activity (Al- mond and Verba 1963; Putnam 1993; Wuthnow 1991). The United States, for in- stance, is traditionally described as a “nation of joiners,” while some European countries (e.g., France, Italy) and Japan seem to have a much less developed civic orientation. In sum, “country of residence” appears to be “an important predictor of voluntary asso- ciation joining” (Curtis, Grab, and Baer Many scholars attribute this variation in civic involvement to the different value sys- tems internalized by members of each soci- ety (Almond and Verba 1963; Inglehart 1997). Final explanations often recognize that these value systems may be rooted in larger institutional and ideological struc- tures. These explanations usually emphasize how such structures are mediated at the in- dividual level to produce particular attitudes and behaviors (e.g. “post-materialist val- Direct all correspondence to Marion Fourcade- Gourinchas, Department of Sociology, Princeton University, Princeton NJ, 08540 (fourcade@ princeton.edu) or Evan Schofer (schofer@soc. umn.edu). The authors contributed equally to this research. A version of this paper was presented “wish to” at the 1999 annual meeting of the American So- not added. ciological Association. The authors thank Ron Wordy. Jepperson for extremely valuable insights and Just go advice, as well as Frank Dobbin, Marshall Ganz, ahead and Joe Galaskiewicz, Kieran Healy, Ann Hironaka, do the Michele Lamont, John W. Meyer, Kimberly Mor- thanking! gan, Virag Molnar, Francisco O. Ramirez, Abigail Saguy, Theda Skocpol, Dietlind Stolle, and the members of the Stanford Comparative Workshop. We also thank the ASR Editors and Avoid anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments using the and suggestions. word American Sociological Review, 2001, Vol. 66 (December:806–xx) “very.”