Generating Social Capital: Civil Society and Institutions in by Dietlind Stolle, Marc Hooghe

By Dietlind Stolle, Marc Hooghe

Social capital--networks of civic engagements, norms of reciprocity, and attitudes of trust--is broadly noticeable as enjoying a key position for the healthiness of democracy. whereas many authors have tested the results of social capital, there's a urgent have to discover its resources. This assortment brings jointly major American and eu students within the first comparative research of the way social belief and different civic attitudes are generated. The members to this quantity research the new release of social capital from instructions: society-based methods that emphasize voluntary institutions, and institutional techniques that emphasize policy.

Show description

Read or Download Generating Social Capital: Civil Society and Institutions in Comparative Perspective PDF

Best comparative books

Global Corruption Report 2007: Corruption in Judicial Systems

An exam of ways, why and the place corruption mars judicial methods.

The Unauthorised Agent: Perspectives from European and Comparative Law

The point of interest of this publication, the criminal state of affairs created while an agent acts with no authority, is among the most crucial concerns in supplier legislations. The research is split into 3 sections: obvious authority, ratification and the legal responsibility of the falsus procurator. Adopting a special comparative standpoint, the contributions are drawn from many various criminal structures, delivering the chance for research of the ecu universal law/civil legislations divide.

Additional info for Generating Social Capital: Civil Society and Institutions in Comparative Perspective

Example text

Again, those aspects of social provision that determine the quality and inclusiveness of service delivery and the fairness of political institutions can cause differences in institutional trust and attitudes toward politicians, which in turn influence generalized trust. The reason for this, as Stolle argues in a study of three Swedish regions, is that citizens who are disappointed with their politicians and bureaucrats and who have experienced the effects of their dishonesty, institutional unfairness and unresponsiveness transfer these experiences and views to people in general (although not to people they know personally).

1995). Feminist Organizations. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Foley, M. and Edwards, B. (1996). ” Journal of Democracy 7, 38–53. Foley, M. and Edwards, B. (1998). ” American Behavioral Scientist 42(1), 5–20. Fukuyama, F. (1995). Trust: The Social Virtues and Creation of Prosperity. London: Hamish Hamilton. Fukuyama, F. (1999). The Great Disruption. Human Nature and the Reconstitution of Social Order. London: Profile Books. Granovetter, M. S. (1973). ” American Journal of Sociology 78, 1360–1380.

The claim is that in areas with stronger, dense, horizontal, and more cross-cutting networks, there is a spillover from membership in organizations to the cooperative values and norms that citizens develop. In areas where networks with such characteristics do not develop, there are fewer opportunities to learn civic virtues and democratic attitudes, resulting in a lack of trust. In this account, social capital is seen as important because it benefits the functioning of democratic institutions. At the microlevel, this entails the relationship between an individual’s membership in associations and networks (structural aspects of social capital), and an individual’s values and attitudes (cultural aspects of social capital).

Download PDF sample

Rated 4.15 of 5 – based on 5 votes