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The Relationship of Leadership Quality to the Political Presence of Civic Associations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2011

Hahrie Han ,
Kenneth T. Andrews ,
Marshall Ganz ,
Matthew Baggetta  and
Chaeyoon Lim
Hahrie Han
Affiliation:
Wellesley College. E-mail: hhan@rwj.harvard.edu
Kenneth T. Andrews
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. E-mail: kta@unc.edu
Marshall Ganz
Affiliation:
Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. E-mail: Marshall_ganz@ksg.harvard.edu
Matthew Baggetta
Affiliation:
School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University. E-mail: baggettm@indiana.edu
Chaeyoon Lim
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin at Madison. E-mail: clim@ssc.wisc.edu
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Abstract

Member-based civic associations, or citizen groups, have two crucial roles in American democracy. They advocate for members' interests in the public arena, but also operate as Tocquevillian “schools of democracy” linking citizens to politics and equipping them with the skills of democratic citizenship. Yet scant research has examined the interrelationships of these two roles. Does the work that civic associations do in developing democratic participants enhance the work they do advocating for members' interests in the public arena? We bring together two previously disparate strands of research on civic associations by arguing that a key factor affecting the political presence of civic associations is leadership quality. We focus on the relationship of leadership quality to political presence, using data from a unique 2003 study of 226 local entities of the Sierra Club. We show that organizations with more skilled and committed leaders have higher levels of political presence. This contrasts with previous research that has focused primarily on community context and resources as explanatory factors. This study shows that political presence is related to the extent to which leaders develop their skills and demonstrate commitment to the organization.

Type
Research Article
Information
Perspectives on Politics , Volume 9 , Issue 1 , March 2011 , pp. 45 - 59
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2011

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