Subjects Of Cohesion

Who participates in which forms of civic engagement and in which societal fields? Who withholds engagement? How does engagement affect social cohesion?

This research unit aims at achieving a comprehensive understanding of both the individual subjects that constitute civil society initiatives (members and supporters) and the adversaries and bystanders.

Research subject

The research subjects are individuals who a) engage in civil society initiatives or b) support but do not directly engage in such initiatives (bystanders). We will focus on individuals dealing with the topics of Climate Change and Environmental Protection, Migration and Integration, and Housing – three topics with large potential for civil engagement involving opposing groups.

The overall goal of this unit is…

  • achieving a comprehensive understanding of both the individual subjects that constitute civil society initiatives (members and supporters) and the adversaries and bystanders.
  • answering the question who participates in which forms of civic engagement and fields. Who withholds engagement? How does (dis-)engagement affect social cohesion?

To address our key questions, we will…

  • conduct a panel survey among members and supporters of civil society initiatives. In addition to standard socio-demographic information, attitudes, and personality traits, the survey will include a range of indicators known to be associated with social cohesion along the relational, attitudinal, and emotional dimensions. We will also include basic social network measures to assess in which (other) civic society initiatives respondents are embedded (or disengaged from). The panel structure will allow us to identify how civic participation and specific (solidarity and protest) actions shape cohesion over time.
  • perform secondary analyses of existing data that include indicators related to civic participation and social cohesion, e.g. Freiwilligen-Survey, European Social Survey or the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP).

Project Participants

The Team

The people behind the INTERACTION IN CIVIL SOCIETY project