Bürger*innen übernehmen Verantwortung vor Ort-qualitative Forschungsergebnisse zu lokalem Engagement aus deutschen Fallstudiengebieten.

Baier, Jessica; Knaps, Falco

Local citizens providing voluntary, unpaid, and public welfare-oriented activities are recognized as increasingly important. This article examines in what way citizens take up social activities and the extent to which these activities can be described as civic responsibility. Using a grounded theory methodology approach, 21 guided interviews with volunteering citizens in rural and urban areas of Germany were analyzed. From a perspective on individual inducements, it becomes evident that both involvement in groups and particular needs are decisive for exercising an engagement. From an overarching perspective on activities, engagement can be understood as citizens’ assumption of responsibility. Empirical examples are used to illustrate strategies and action pathways that are characterized by their process orientation, the use of synergies and their sustainability, as well as interventionist approaches that are characterized by their immediacy and their direct benefits for specific groups. Subsequently, four ways of assuming responsibility within civil society are described. The results provide starting points for academic discourse and practical implications.

ACADEMIC discourse; CITIES & towns; GROUNDED theory; RURAL geography; VOLUNTEERS; CIVIL society

SWS - Rundschau, 2024, Vol 64, Issue 2, p140

1013-1469

Academic Journal