Abstract
The twofold functioning of intermediaries for the purpose of citizen participation;
Research on the significance for citizenship of the support of volunteers by the Dutch
association Humanitas.
This book deals with the participation of citizens in citizenship practices. It is an attempt
to contribute to the understanding of participation in terms of citizenship, by
exploring research into the practice of the support of volunteers by the Dutch association
Humanitas. The focus is on the interaction between citizens and the context
in which participation takes place. With Bryan S. Turner, I assume that citizens, as
one of the actors, through participation in practices give shape to citizenship practices,
and in turn are themselves shaped by these practices. Participation is not an
issue of citizens alone. It is constituted in the interaction between citizens and the
other actors of citizenship practices (the context of participation).
The support of volunteers by the Dutch association Humanitas is an intermediary
between citizens and the context of their participation. Humanitas’ task is to counsel
its volunteers while they carry out the social work of the association, and deal with
the organisation of the social work, as well as with the organisation of the association’s
local departments (the institutional embedding of the social work). In this research,
the support of volunteers by the Dutch association Humanitas represents the
operationalisation of the interaction between citizens and the context of participation.
A better understanding of the signifi cance of the support for the participation
of the different volunteers offers us insight into both the process of the interaction
between the citizens and the context of participation, and the relevance of the process
for citizen participation. Moreover, because this research is situated within the
citizenship practice we call ‘Dutch society’, it indirectly gives insight into those characteristics
of Dutch society which infl uence citizen participation.
| Original language | American English |
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| Award date | 28 Sept 2006 |
| Publisher | |
| Print ISBNs | 90 6665 791 x |
| Electronic ISBNs | 90 6665 791 x |
| Publication status | Published - 28 Sept 2006 |