Nationwide united

Is it the case that the Dutch increasingly maintain only passive relationships with organisations? Is it true that clubs and societies are faced with a falling percentage of active members and volunteers? Is a trend under way in Dutch civil society in which organisations with many mutual social contacts between members are losing ground to organisations without such contacts? And what does this mean for the democratic and social state of society?

This publication is concerned with current changes in Dutch civil society. It maps out the numbers of members and/or donors in more than a hundred organisations from 1980 onwards. Based on the findings of population surveys and a separate survey of several dozen large organisations, answers are sought to the above questions.