The Contradictions of Volunteer Work. A Factor of Fragmented Social Cohesion? The case of the VOs in Tuscany

The essay describes some contradictions relating to the complex world of Italian voluntary organizations. In particular, the empirical analysis of this phenomenon in Tuscany reveals an informal redefinition of the mission of solidarity, which complicates the contribution of voluntary associations to the construction of a more general sense of "social cohesion". The data regarding the "propensity to networking" seems to confirm the dominance of dynamics of fragmentation, specialization and dependence on public institutions that prevent the "meanings of networks" to condense into "social capital".