Purpose

In recent sociological analyses intermediary structures are generally portrayed as generating social capital. Involvement in organisations fosters the integration of citizens and helps to prevent social isolation and alienation.

These studies argue that by participating in social networks people acquire individual and collective skills that facilitate coordinated action and cooperation to the benefit of both society and the individual. They point to the many socialising and coordinating functions of civil society that accompany and complement those of the family, government and the market.

Moreover, it is argued that civil society plays a key role in controlling social conflicts, in the subsequent integration of social groups and in the emergence of a societal model based on compromise and dialogue, often termed a consociational democracy. The strength of civil society is itself considered to be a key criterion in judging the democratic health and stability of a society.

However, from a historical perspective the relationship between intermediary structures and democracy seems to be much more problematic. Which intermediary structures contributed to the shaping of contemporary society in Belgium during the 19th and 20th centuries? How did they integrate within the democratic state? Did they, for instance through their activities and associational life, foster democratic attitudes amongst their supporters?

Such questions have barely been considered in Belgian historiography. In previous decades, historical research into civil society in the Flemish part of Belgium focused mostly on purely ideological and organisational considerations, often failed to move beyond the pillarisation of Belgian society and lacked a more international and comparative approach.

This gap in the research can be attributed to the lack of a centralised, high-quality and longitudinal data series, and is a compelling reason for updating comparative research on the subject.

As a research support centre, ODIS intends to take up this challenge. Specifically, the project’s initiators aspire to carry out in-depth research and build up a coherent, extensive collection of data relating to civil society in Flanders/Belgium and its relation with democracy.