Lietuvos istorijos institutas

The article presents the political decisions affecting associations and the ideological attitudes underlying them in Lithuania during the 1930s. The 1936 Law on Associations narrowed the autonomy of voluntary associations creating a need for the government to argue for intervention in the affairs of associations. The leaders of the authoritarian regime relied on the idea of organised society based on close cooperation between associations and the state. The article explores the concept of organised society and its links with corporatism, and looks at the plans of the authorities to reform associations. The aim is to assess the extent to which political decisions affecting associations, the idea of organised society, and corporatism were against or in line with the ideals of civil society.