Poverty Reports, the State and Voluntary Associations in France and in the Federal Republic of Germany in the 1980ies

Abstract

The relation between the voluntary sector and the state in France and Germany in the second half of the twentieth century is generally analysed in a similar way: it is described as a growing dependence of the voluntary associations on the state, and sometimes even as their instrumentalization by the state. This article argues that for the associations, the period of welfare state expansion did not only mean a growing dependence on the state; it also gave them opportunities to broaden their range of activities and to redefine their role with regard to the state. The argument is supported by analysing the participation of the associations in the production of the first poverty reports in the 1980s in both countries.