Small Nonprofits and Civil Society: Civic Engagement and Social Capital

2008 ◽  
pp. 74-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jo Anne Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Civic Engagement

Ethnic Conflict and Civil Society: India and Beyond

2001 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 362-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashutosh Varshney
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Ethnic Conflict ◽  
Ethnic Violence ◽  
The People

Scholars have worked either on civil society or on ethnic conflict, but no systematic attempt has yet been made to connect the two. In an attempt to explore the possible links, this article makes two interconnected arguments. First, interethnic and intraethnic networks of civic engagement play very different roles in ethnic conflict. Because they build bridges and manage tensions, interethnic networks are agents of peace. But if communities are organized only along intraethnic lines and the interconnections with other communities are very weak (or do not exist), ethnic violence is then quite likely. Second, civic networks, both intra- and interethnic, can also be broken down into two other types: associational forms of engagement and everyday forms of engagement. This distinction is based on whether civic interaction is formal or not. Both forms of engagement, if robust, promote peace: contrariwise, their absence or weakness opens up space for ethnic violence. Of the two, however, the associational forms turn out to be sturdier than everyday engagement, especially when confronted with attempts by politicians to polarize the people along ethnic lines. Both arguments have significance for theories of ethnic conflict and social capital.

Civil Society Development and Democratic Values in Romania and Moldova

2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 316-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Bădescu ◽  
Paul Sum ◽  
Eric M. Uslaner
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Democratic Values ◽  
The Public ◽  
Mass Public ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Civil Society Development

Does civic engagement lead to democratic values such as trust and tolerance? This is the claim of the literature on social capital. Using surveys of the public and organizational activists the authors conducted in Romania and Moldova in 2001 with the support of the Starr Foundation, they investigate these linkages. In both countries, they find low levels of civic engagement, trust, and tolerance for the mass public. They also find little support for the argument that participation leads to greater trust and tolerance among the mass public. However, they find considerably higher levels of trust, tolerance, and engagement among organizational activists and suggest that this elite may help transfer democratic values to the larger population. It is disconcerting that such activists constitute minuscule proportions of the population in both countries.

Civic engagement measured in square metres. Church and civil society in a Dutch suburb

2012 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 552-569
Author(s):  
Marten van der Meulen
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Material Resources ◽  
Empirical Level ◽  
The Way

In a case study on suburban churches the author describes how religious ideas, material resources and relationships of trust together form capital that enables and limits the civic engagement of the churches. The case study is based on ethnographic research in the newly built suburb of Leidsche Rijn in the Netherlands. The author concludes that a focus on the combination of different forms of capital available in congregational networks helps to obtain a better understanding of the often noted positive relationship between religion and civic engagement. The study shows that capital has an ambiguous influence: it enables and limits civic engagement. Researchers should therefore not be overly positive about the effects of social capital. They should also be aware of the ‘essential contestedness’ of civic engagement. The way civic engagement actually works on an empirical level calls into question any easy definition that researchers may devise.

Trust: A National Project

2015 ◽  
pp. 138-146
Author(s):  
N. Rozinskaya ◽  
I. Rozinskiy
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
External Pressure ◽  
National Project ◽  
Low Level ◽  
General Trust

This article deals with the genesis of general trust and social capital in contemporary Russia, which faces the external pressure. The low level of general trust is noted, its economic, social and everyday life implications are considered, an explanation of Russia’s lower than in western Europe level of trust is provided. Considering society’s level of trust and social capital as externalia, the authors conclude that there is a necessity to "produce" trust intentionally. Promotion of collective charity is proposed as a mechanism of such "production". It is stressed that in order to activate the potential of trust in a society, there is a need for ideological and symbolic basis linked to its history. Russian People’s Unity Day, understood as the birthday of Russian civil society, is proposed to be used in this respect.

Social Capital and the Demand for Regulation in Russia

2014 ◽  
pp. 77-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Menyashev
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Government Regulation ◽  
Russian Regions ◽  
Strong State ◽  
Popular View

There is a popular view in Russian studies arguing that underdevelopment of Russian civil society is partly responsible for the failure of liberal idea in Russia. Fragmented society sees no alternative to massive government regulation, that is why support of strong state is so high. If this logic is true, the differences in civicness across urban societies should show up in liberal parties support. This paper estimates this effect using social capital framework and drawing upon the data from Russian regions.

Civil society and civic engagement in rural Russia

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 142-166
Author(s):  
Inna Kopoteva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Civic Engagement

scholarly journals A Nation of Organizers: The Institutional Origins of Civic Voluntarism in the United States

2000 ◽  
Vol 94 (3) ◽  
pp. 527-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theda Skocpol ◽  
Marshall Ganz ◽  
Ziad Munson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
The United States ◽  
Institutional Form ◽  
Current Discussion ◽  
Institutional Origins ◽  
Membership Associations

We challenge the widely held view that classic American voluntary groups were tiny, local, and disconnected from government. Using newly collected data to develop a theoretically framed account, we show that membership associations emerged early in U.S. history and converged toward the institutional form of the representatively governed federation. This form enabled leaders and members to spread interconnected groups across an expanding nation. At the height of local proliferation, most voluntary groups were part of regional or national federations that mirrored the structure of U.S. government. Institutionalist theories suggest reasons for this parallelism, which belies the rigid dichotomy between state and civil society that informs much current discussion of civic engagement in the United States and elsewhere.

Industrialization, Information Technology and Changes in Social Capital

2011 ◽  
Vol 58-60 ◽  
pp. 359-363
Author(s):  
Ai Lin Zheng ◽  
Zhen Sheng Tao
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Information Technology ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Process Of Change ◽  
General Trust ◽  
The Family

Industrialization, information technology is a process of change of social capital. China's traditional social capital are mainly within the family, we must carry forward the expansion of traditional ethics and trust radius, The formation of the general trust in market economy, civil society organizations to promote the formation of modern social capital. Our government has an important role in formation of social capital.

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