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- Title
When Doing Good Becomes a State Affair: Voluntary Service in Germany.
- Authors
Haß, Rabea; Serrano-Velarde, Kathia
- Abstract
In times of economic crisis, volunteer work comes to be seen as a resource, both an economic one that provides social services as the state cuts back on welfare spending; and a social one, to counteract the social disintegration that accompanies disenchantment with politics. As a result, governments across Europe have begun targeting the volunteer workforce through policy instruments. Our paper examines the effects of government policy on volunteering traditions by analyzing the implementation of a national voluntary service in Germany. Drawing on neo-institutional theory, we argue that Germany's state initiative has sparked competition between the new government voluntary service and preexisting programs organized by civil society organizations. We will show that this conflict has not merely restructured relationships among program leaders, host institutions, educational facilities, and volunteers, but in fact called into question the very nature of volunteering as a civic practice.
- Subjects
VOLUNTEER workers in social services; FINANCIAL crises; PUBLIC welfare; SOCIAL policy; CIVIL service; CIVICS education
- Publication
Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary & Nonprofit Organizations, 2015, Vol 26, Issue 5, p1718
- ISSN
0957-8765
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s11266-015-9577-z