Interest organisation and intermediation in the New Länder

This article examines the formation of civil society in the new German Länder. In the case of the economic interest organisations (employers and industry associations and trade unions), the initiative came largely from the west. Although formal organisational structures were quickly put in place, levels of participation remained relatively low. The resultant weakness in terms of organisational resources perpetuates dependency upon counterparts in the west. A case study on the formation of environmental organisations in the east shows that the initial dynamism in this sector has given way to stagnation and fragmentation. This is symptomatic of the apparent inability of the new Länder to sustain the autonomous organisational activity normally associated with a pluralist civil society.