Do All Associations Lead to Lower Levels of Ethnocentrism? A Two-Year Longitudinal Test of the Selection and Adaptation Model

Within the literature on the relation between membership in voluntary associations and tolerance, three theoretical perspectives can be distinguished. The socialization perspective assumes that the interaction within association leads to higher levels of tolerance; the self-selection perspective suggests that tolerant actors are more likely to join associations; while the selection and adaption model predicts that the group culture within an association will have a specific effect on members’ attitudes. We use a two-year panel study among Belgian adolescents to ascertain the empirical merits of these three approaches. Results show that not all associations have an effect on the reduction of prejudice, but that this effect is limited to specific associations. A structural equation model furthermore suggests that socialization effects are significantly stronger than self-selection effects. As such, this analysis of panel data lends support to the selection and adaptation model.     

Inequalities in Non-institutionalised Forms of Political Participation: A Multi-level Analysis of 25 countries

Various studies suggest that while institutionalised and electoral forms of political participation are in decline in Western societies, non-institutionalised forms of participation (like demonstrating, political consumerism or signing petitions) are on the rise. However, this expansion of the political action repertoire of citizens also entails the question of equal participation opportunities. It can be argued that contemporary ideals of democratic participation assume an equal representation of citizens' interests. In this article we analyse the equality of participation patterns using comparative data from the 2004 ISSP survey. Our results suggest that non-institutionalised forms of participation increase patterns of inequality due to education but strongly reduce or even reverse gender and age inequalities. As such, both institutionalised and non-institutionalised forms of participation have specific (dis)advantages from the perspective of preserving equal access to democratic decision-making procedures.