Year: 2016
Type: article
Abstract: This paper focuses on the development of volunteering at aggregate level in the post-communist societies, especially in Central and Eastern Europe .Volunteering as a formal activity performed for organizations or associations is an older activity in Western Europe, but in Central and Eastern Europe it has been a new phenomenon after the collapse of the communist regime .During the communist rule, volunteering was compulsory for children and for adults as well .In this period, not only the voluntary activities were under state control but also the civil society, which is the seed-bed of volunteering .After the collapse of the communist regime, volunteering in Central and Eastern Europe decreased .The main reasons of this are the bad experiences in communism .In the transition in Central and Eastern Europe, the culture of volunteering in some countries is better developed, such as in the Czech Republic, while in others less developed, such as in Romania or Bulgaria .At aggregate level, the main determinants of volunteering are democracy, value change, secularization, and individualization .All these processes have occurred in Western Europe, while in Central and Eastern Europe are just in progress .Besides the communist experiences, that is why volunteering in Central and Eastern Europe is less developed .
Author: Silló, Ágota
Institution: University of Debrecen
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3197005227