The utility of bonding social capital

Bibliographic Data

ID12890956
AuthorsSten Widmalm (0000-0002-2359-4193, Uppsala University, corresponding author)
Year2005
Volume1
Issue1
Pages75-95
Publication date2005-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Civil Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1744-8689 • E-ISSN: 1744-8697
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17448680500210680
OpenAlexW2027230462
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited36

In most studies of social capital, bridging social capital is emphasized as ‘good’ for democracy and economic performance. It is rarer to find studies showing that bonding social capital can bring positive effects. Mostly, bonding social capital is either overlooked or depicted as the ‘villain’ that leads to ethnic conflict, intolerant behaviour and poor economic and democratic development. In this article, it is argued that this picture needs to be revised. If we assume that bonding trust is a negative force for development and democracy, we ignore a substantial portion of the political history of the West. Also, new empirical evidence from India suggests that bonding social capital is related to good governance. High levels of bonding trust cannot only facilitate political cooperation. They may also work as a shield against public sector employees who attempt to exploit citizens in a corrupt or clientelistic manner. The conclusion drawn in the article is that the view of social capital as a prime mover with inherent normatively attractive qualities should give way to a perspective where social capital is more properly regarded as an intermediate variable where the way it is combined with, or interacts with, other factors determines outcomes

Civil society · Political science · Politics · Social capital · Sociology · Law · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Capital and Networks · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies

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