Political culture, political participation, and civic action groups in Western Germany

Abstract

The fact that in recent years citizen action groups have caused a change In the structure of political processes in Germany can hardly be denied. But neither the state of research reached so far nor the experience of political practice in dealing with action groups permits reliable judgments on the importance of these changes . Did the political system of Germany gain a new element or are the activities of civic groups a more or less shortlived fad or are we at the start of a transformation of Western political systems at the end of which we will have the often described "participatory democracy"? No valid answer can be given to these questions - as there probably is no typical civic action group. We are dealing with a completely heterogeneous pattern of political organization and action if we take into account the aims of the groups, the means they use to achieve their ends, the organization and membership structure, their fields of activity, and more.