Demokratie und Verein

Riekmann, Wibke

doi:10.1007/978-3-531-94140-0

Cited by 15 publications

(2 citation statements)

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Section: Social Cohesion and Volunteering In Germanymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The notion that democratic practices can be learned in civil society organisations is not new (Dewey, 2008;Riekmann, 2011) and the German state has long recognised the potential of learning for democratic participation and cohesion (Heidemann, 2010;Riekmann, 2011). After the defeat of National Socialism in 1945, the programme of 're-education' trained German citizens in democratic participation, a key aspect of which was civic learning, 4 an important function of the clubs and youth organisations formed at the time (Riekmann, 2011), explicitly linking volunteering and democratic practices. Partially due to the bad press which formal learning has had in the last fifteen years because of Germany's poor PISA i results, much attention has been given to learning in informal settings, which, it is argued, can provide young people with the learning they need to participate fully in a democratic society and which, allegedly, is not provided by formal schooling (Prein et al 2009).…”

Section: Social Cohesion and Volunteering In Germanymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Volunteering, social cohesion and race: the German Technical Relief Service

Chadderton

2016

Voluntary Sector Review

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This paper contributes to the debate on whether volunteering influences social cohesion, and argues that issues of race equality should be considered in this discussion. Whilst the German government, like other European states, promotes volunteering as a way of improving social cohesion, discussions on social cohesion in Germany tend not to mention race explicitly, whilst studies on volunteering tend to neglect to explore race at all. When they do, race is simply considered a factor influencing engagement, rather than a structural issue. Employing the example of the German Technical Relief Service for civil defence, the paper explores race relations and representation in Germany, where discussions on race generally remain taboo, drawing on theories of structural racism and whiteness. The paper concludes that it cannot be unproblematically assumed that volunteering leads to social cohesion in an ethnically diverse society if racial inequalities are not addressed.

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