Die Lehrjahre sind vorbei! Re-Forming Democratic Interest Groups in the East German Länder

Between 1972 and 1986, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) witnessed the rise of an underground civil society which gradually impelled the collapse of the socialist regime, opening the door to political freedom. Following unification, new elites eliminated 90 mass organisations that had served as the mainstay of GDR community interaction, presuming that a common institutional framework would soon allow Germans 'who belonged together to grow together'. To prove stable in the long run, however, democratic institutions not only need to be 'representative' in a territorial or functional sense; they must also prove responsive to more deep-seated citizen needs. This study posits that citizens who cultivate subjective ties (social capital) in relation to new institutions will not only internalise democratic values more quickly than those lacking such ties but will also be more effective in advancing their interests within the new power structures. It outlines criteria for pinpointing specific associations as potential social capital 'generators', the foundation of civic culture. It then presents four case studies, illustrating ways in which East Germans are creating 'space' for their own norms and associational styles within the new institutional framework. The cases include: die Grüne Liga (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern); the Volkssolidarität (Berlin); Magdeburg's Round-Table against Violence (Sachsen-Anhalt); and the Gleichstellungsstelle-Erfurt (Thüringen). All are found to be fostering citizen competence and identification with democratic processes in the young Länder.