Social Capital Worldwide
Potential for Democratization or Stabilizer of Authoritarian Rule
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4801390 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sigrid Roßteutscher (Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany,, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2010 |
| Volume | 53 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 737-757 |
| Publication date | 2010-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Behavioral Scientist (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-7642 • E-ISSN: 1552-3381 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0002764209350835 |
| OpenAlex | W2101781200 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 15 |
| References cited | 28 |
The notion of social capital has gained enthusiastic support from nongovernmental organizations, intergovernmental confederations, and supranational bodies such as the European Union, the World Bank, and the United Nations. They all believe that social capital might be a potent aid for democratization, for repairing defective democracies, and for undermining authoritarian regimes. This article examines whether social capital has such positive effects in countries where democracy is not yet established. Does social capital help in a country's move toward democratization, or is the link between democracy and social capital more dubious? Does social capital even contribute to the stabilization of nondemocratic regimes? This article analyzes 70 countries that participated in the third wave of the World Values Survey. The results are clear: Social capital functions as a stabilizer of authoritarian rule. Its effects are mainly negative. Social trust, in particular, might be a "key resource for the market economy and democratic politics" (Stolle, 2003, p. 19). In nondemocratic contexts, however, it appears to throw a spanner in the works of democratization. Social participation and trust, specifically, increase the stability of nondemocratic leadership by generating popular support, by suppressing regime-threatening forms of protest activity, and by nourishing undemocratic ideals of governance
Authoritarianism · Capital (architecture) · Democracy · Democratization · Development economics · Economic system · Economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Social capital · Sociology · Law · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Capital and Networks · Social Policy and Reform Studies
Individual and Country-level Institutional Trust and Public Attitude to Welfare Expenditures in 24 Transitional Countries
Civil Society and Support for the Political System in Times of Crisis
Social and economic determinants of support for a strong non-democratic leader in democracies differ from non-democracies
Social capital and polarization
Perceived economic self-sufficiency
How Autocracies Disrupt Unsanctioned Information Flows
Social Cohesion and Its Correlates
Relationships of Horizontalism and Hierarchy
How do political opportunities impact protest potential? A multilevel cross-national assessment
Civil society, public support, and democratic recession in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines
Outward specific trust in the balancing of hierarchical government trust
Contesting narratives of repression
Religion and Social Trust
Social Capital and Community Development
The Structural Sources of Association
Democracy and Association
THREE. Confidence in Public Institutions
Trust, well-being and democracy
Bowling alone
Citizenship and Involvement in European Democracies
Just Institutions Matter
How can we trust our fellow citizens
The Dubious Link
Social Capital and Associations in European Democracies
Social Capital and Economic Development
Modernization and Postmodernization
Politicisation, economic development and political interest in Europe
Interesting but irrelevant
E Pluribus Unum
Advocate or Reflection? Associations and Political Culture
Political Support
Economic Growth and Social Capital
Modeling Multilevel Data Structures
The Saliency of Political Cleavages and the "Dark Sides" of Social Capital
Social capital and economic development
| Unique citing works | 15 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2011 - 2025 (15) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 13 |