This unique book offers an empirical assessment of how social and political involvement relates to theories of citizenship and democracy, providing a detailed comparative assessment of the potential that voluntary organizations offer citizens for social and political participation in several European countries.

The coherent chapters, written by leading European researchers, examine the participatory opportunities offered by a wide and diverse variety of voluntary associations and provides a comparative perspective on the role, structure and functions of associations in six medium-sized European cities - Aalborg (Denmark), Aberdeen (UK), Bern (Switzerland), Enschede (the Netherlands), Mannheim (Germany) and Sabadell (Spain).

This book has a companion volume entitled Citizenship and Involvement in European Democracies edited by Jan van Deth, Jose Ramon Montero and Anders Westholm (Routledge, 2006).

Both volumes will be of great interest to students and researchers of European politics, comparative politics and sociology.