Civil Society and Professions: US Civic and Politicized Lawyering

It is important to include civil society in the purview of the sociology of professions because many professionals and professions interact not just with the state and the market but also with civil society actors. Moreover, members of professions engage in civic action and political activism not just as citizens or single professionals but also as the (founding or regular) members of their professional associations. They also establish think-tanks, research and counseling centres, consortia, and on occasion even citizen initiatives or social movements. Professional life can be explored more comprehensively when these professional interactions and activities are included in the analysis. The text provides a standard definition of professions, argues for considering professions’ role in civil society, defines civil society, and draws on US research on civic and political lawyering to buttress its arguments. Some examples from other professions are also offered

“A very orderly retreat”: Democratic transition in East Germany, 1989-90

East Germany's 1989-90 democratisation is among the best known of East European transitions, but does not lend itself to comparative analysis, due to the singular way in which political reform and democratic consolidation were subsumed by Germany's unification process. Yet aspects of East Germany's democratisation have proved amenable to comparative approaches. This article reviews the comparative literature that refers to East Germany, and finds a schism between those who designate East Germany's transition “regime collapse” and others who contend that it exemplifies “transition through extrication”. It inquires into the merits of each position and finds in favour of the latter. Drawing on primary and secondary literature, as well as archival and interview sources, it portrays a communist elite that was, to a large extent, prepared to adapt to changing circumstances and capable of learning from “reference states” such as Poland. Although East Germany was the Soviet state in which the positions of existing elites were most threatened by democratic transition, here too a surprising number succeeded in maintaining their position while filing across the bridge to market society. A concluding section outlines the alchemy through which their bureaucratic power was transmuted into property and influence in the “new Germany”

„Kwestia kobieca jest kwestią prawną”/„Die Frauenfrage ist Rechtsfrage“

In this article, the author considers women’s reformist milieus and women’s legal associations and unions, as well as investigates their development since the Weimar Republic until the 1950s. She discusses the actions of female lawyers educated in Germany as well as the activity of their associations with regard to the fight for equality. Even though German universities started to accept women as law students at the beginning of the 20th century – and women could not sit exams or work in their profession until 1922 (except for several Lands) – it did not stop women from establishing their own associations and being active in forcing changes leading to equal education, employment, voting, or family and civil laws for both men and women. Their efforts were terminated by WWII. Nevertheless, the experience they had gained in the public activities bore fruits during the mobilisation of women at the time of conflict with regard to the wording of the Article 3 in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany.Artykuł traktuje o kobiecych, reformatorskich środowiskach i stowarzyszeniach prawniczych oraz śledzi ich rozwój od czasów Republiki Weimarskiej do lat 50-tych XX-wieku. Autorka omawia działania kobiet-prawniczek wykształconych w Niemczech i tworzonych przez nie zrzeszeń na rzecz równouprawnienia kobiet. Choć uniwersytety w Niemczech dopiero na początku XX wieku zaczęły przyjmować kobiety na studia prawnicze, a do 1922 roku (z wyjątkiem kilku landów) nie mogły one składać egzaminów i pracować w zawodzie, nie przeszkadzało im to założyć swojego zrzeszenia i działać na rzecz zmian prowadzących do równego wykształcenia, zatrudnienia, praw wyborczych, rodzinnych i cywilnych dla mężczyzn i kobiet. Kres ich staraniom położyła II wojna światowa. Jednakże zyskane doświadczenie w działalności publicznej zaowocowało podczas mobilizacji kobiet w czasie konfliktu o tekst artykułu 3 Konstytucji Republiki Federalnej Niemiec

Emotional man a third perspective on collective and corporate action

SIGLEUuStB Koeln(38)-890107129 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman

Civil Society and Professions: US Civic and Politicized Lawyering

It is important to include civil society in the purview of the sociology of professions because many professionals and professions interact not just with the state and the market but also with civil society actors. Moreover, members of professions engage in civic action and political activism not just as citizens or single professionals but also as the (founding or regular) members of their professional associations. They also establish think-tanks, research and counseling centres, consortia, and on occasion even citizen initiatives or social movements. Professional life can be explored more comprehensively when these professional interactions and activities are included in the analysis. The text provides a standard definition of professions, argues for considering professions’ role in civil society, defines civil society, and draws on US research on civic and political lawyering to buttress its arguments. Some examples from other professions are also offered

Corporate actors definition, genesis, and interaction

SIGLEUuStB Koeln=38*-910106243 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman