Associations, civic norms, and democracy: Revisiting the Italian case

Abstract

By exploring associational life in early modern Italy, which the arguments of neo-Tocquevillians such as Robert Putnam explore, this article critically reconsiders the effects of associations upon democracy. By revealing how rich associational life resulted in the establishment of Fascism, I argue that associations do not necessarily contribute to the stabilization of democracy. In order to account better for meanings of associations, I emphasize transformation of identities of associations in a political and ideological context.