Although there has been considerable interest in the role of voluntary associations in improving participatory democracy, few researchers have explored this relationship empirically and cross-nationally. This dissertation addresses two research questions: (a) Do consequences of voluntary associations for participatory democracy vary from country to country? For this question, I investigate whether associational membership strengthens, weakens, or leaves unchanged the effects of socioeconomic resources measured by educational attainment and family income on political participation in each country. (b) Why do the cross-national variations in the role of voluntary associations as a political equalizer occur? I argue that political disparity between the privileged and the disadvantaged is more likely to be mitigated by voluntary associations in countries where civic resources such as civic virtue and social trust are facilitated via associational experiences than in countries where they are not.

A cross-national comparison is conducted in two ways. First, the 2004 US General Social Survey and Korean General Social Survey are analyzed to show that even similar climates of associationalism in two countries can lead to differential consequences for participatory democracy, depending on the associations' capacities to foster civic resources. The results indicate that voluntary associations in the United States, compared to those in Korea, do a better job of playing the role of civic educator and even of political equalizer. I attribute the inability of voluntary associations to promote civic resources in Korea to their homogeneous, dense, and like-minded social networks. Second, a comparison of 38 countries concerning the role of associationalism in achieving participatory democracy is made by using the 2004 ISSP data to generalize the findings and implications from the analyses of the United States and Korea. The results suggest that the effects of socioeconomic resources on political participation among members are better constrained in countries where civic resources are developed through associational activities.

A theory is elaborated on the process by which vigorous associational culture ends up deepening participatory inequality. The implications of findings on the role of voluntary associations to the literature on social capital and participatory democracy are discussed.