Civil societys democratic potential : organizational trade offs between participation and representation In Civil Societys Democratic Potential Nicole Bolleyer explores which civil society organizations (CSOs) contribute to democracy how and why. Organized civil society including interest groups political parties and service oriented associations is traditionally considered a cornerstone of democracy. Constituting the organizational fabric between government and society these organizations encompass a wide diversity of entities thought to fundamentally contribute to both democratic participation and representation. However CSOs readiness and ability to serve as venues for participation vehicles of democratic representation or indeed both at the same time are increasingly questioned in political science sociology and voluntary sector research alike. Bringing those fields together the author argues that two contrasting organizational templates the voluntary association and the professionalized voluntary organization allow theorizing fundamental trade offs shaping CSOs performance on three dimensions accounting for their varying democratic contributions: participation representation and societal responsiveness. The studys innovative theoretical framework is examined using a mixed methods design. The latter combines the analysis of survey data covering over 3000 CSOs across four European democracies with qualitative case studies of the evolution of three CSOs a political party an interest group and a service orientated organization over several decades.