Articles

Ninth issue of Voluntary Action
Autumn 2001 (Volume 3 Number 3)

Unfotunately articles from this issue are not currently available

 

‘The inflatable log’: volunteering, the state and democracy

Dr Justin Davis Smith, Director, Institute for Volunteering Research

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This article examines the complex relationship between volunteering and democracy, drawing upon both theoretical and empirical research. It seeks to address two questions: Can volunteering exist outside the democratic process? And is volunteering an indicator of the level of democracy?

The article begins by looking at the situation of volunteering under totalitarian regimes, arguing that, despite the hostile political climate, independent voluntary activity did not completely disappear from the Communist countries of eastern Europe during the Cold War. But voluntary action, in a different guise, also sustained the pro-democracy movements in those same countries. Is it therefore only certain forms of volunteering – those deemed to be hostile to the state – that find it hard to exist outside the democratic process? Drawing upon the experience of Spain and South Africa, the article points to a paradox: certain forms of civic participation and political engagement seem to thrive better under conditions of tyranny.

The second part of the article attempts to place these historical analyses in the context of the theoretical debate about civil society and social capital. With public confidence in political institutions at an all-time low, volunteering may offer a way of re-engaging citizens with the broader political process. The article concludes with some tentative conclusions about the future.

A movement which changes the world?

Liz Burns OBE, President, European Volunteer Centre

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The title of this article paraphrases the theme of the World Congress on Volunteering that opened the International Year of Volunteers 2001. The aim of the article is to explore how far this kind of claim for volunteering – which is undoubtedly good for rallying the troops – is valid, and to consider what needs to happen if it is to remain valid. The paper will consider the role of volunteering as part of the response to today’s challenges and opportunities – an involvement that will be needed to win the recognition and build the capacity that will ensure volunteering continues to form part of tomorrow’s solutions, as well as of today’s and yesterday’s. The paper is in three parts: a general reflection on volunteering and some of the key factors that shape its development; a discussion of the context set by the fact of globalisation; and some thoughts on future developments in volunteering at a time of huge new potential and enormous risk.

New ways of managing volunteers: combining membership management and programme management

Dr Lucas C.P.M. Meijs and Esther Hoogstad, Business Society

Management Research Group, Erasmus University, Rotterdam

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Over the past twenty years a useful body of knowledge has grown up about how to involve and manage volunteers. Yet concerns are now being expressed about the dominance of the model that sees managing volunteers as broadly analogous to managing paid workers. Although this model may be appropriate in certain circumstances – such as very large volunteer programmes or those sponsored or organised by government agencies – it is by no means adequate for the whole range of settings in which volunteers are involved. This article accordingly begins by looking at the current literature on managing volunteers; it then suggests that the task needs an approach which can accommodate a wider range of philosophies and organisational contexts; and finally it reviews emerging models of volunteer management that are taking this wider viewpoint and attempts to fit them into an overall framework. The aim throughout is to provide new insights for those whose task it is to manage volunteers.

The values and basic principles of volunteering: complacency or caution?

Professor Jimmy Kearney, Centre for Voluntary Action Studies, University of Ulster

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This article looks at the changing context within which volunteering is taking place. That context includes globalisation, technological transformation, social change (including demographic change), changes in family life, support structures and work patterns, an evolving civil society and changes in the practice of governance.

The implications of such developments are discussed: for example, changes in the time available for volunteering and community activity; in the pool of volunteers; in the nature of, and approaches to, volunteering; and in the potential of volunteering to ensure greater community involvement.

The article argues, using examples, that volunteering has already started to adapt. It points out, however, that further changes are essential if volunteering is to contribute to a socially and economically inclusive society that values diversity and is underpinned by a participatory democracy fostering active citizenship. A number of areas where changes will be needed are discussed.

An exclusive construct? Exploring different cultural concepts of volunteering

Priya Lukka and Angela Ellis, Institute for Volunteering Research

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‘Volunteering’ is a culturally grounded concept with implicit cultural references. It has been constructed in a specific Westernised context. Just hearing the term conjures up certain images in our minds, with limited transferability. This article starts by exploring the implications of the dominant Western construct of volunteering. We argue that there is a need to recognise the diversity of actions often hidden within that construct. The overuse of a single term can serve to marginalise many activities, especially informal, that take place at the community level. The images implicit in the concept of volunteering make it potentially exclusionary. We therefore need to look at the different ways in which the term has been constructed.

The second half of the article examines how transferable this Western construct is. As a cultural construct or an ethical proposition, one word does not fit all cases because the activities and specifics that constitute volunteering vary so dramatically across cultures. Rather than importing the term ‘volunteering’, academics and practitioners should work with communities to develop bottom-up interpretations of culturally specific civil life.