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The French associative phenomenon, with its eclectic objects, is unified by its statutory obligations, governed by the law of July 1, 1901. Over the past few decades, organizations in this third sector, by analogy to public service and the market sector, have inevitably had to professionalize. This article explores the associative institutional dimension through the modernization crisis of an international cooperation association. It shows that the founding logic, which governs the creation of an association, is undermined by the necessary imposition of managerial changes aimed at ensuring its financial security. These changes invalidate the symbolic dimension of the collective’s practices and functioning. The clinical analysis of the critical process reveals the centrality of an associative institutional dimension based on a triple axiom: solidarity, democracy, and non-profitability.