Can Democracy Be Sustained? Civic Engagement, Social Capital and the Future of Democratic Goverance in Moscow

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The proposed research explores the relationship between patterns of civic engagement, levels of social capital, and the process of democratization within Moscow. The project is framed around three related questions: i) what is the character and intensity of civic engagement in contemporary Moscow?; ii) is the level and breadth of civic engagement expanding?; and iii) are contemporary forms of civic engagement promoting democratic values? Civic engagement is participation in, and knowledge of, formal and informal modes of political and social interaction. Data for the project will derive from a door-to-door survey of 3,500 households as well as in-depth interviews conducted with local officials and social activists. We will explore the relationships between personal characteristics, attitudes/beliefs, material well-being, and housing status to understand variations in the level and scope of civic engagement. Data from the project will deepen the empirical analysis of democratization in the Russian capital and gauge the prospects for democratic consolidation across Russia. It will provide answers to key issues. Can democracy survive without well-developed reserves of social capital and are particular modes of civic engagement capable of generating new stocks of social capital? Can grassroots civic engagement provide a sustainable foundation for the formal democratic institutions legislated 'from above' in Russia? Research for the project will be carried out by a collaborative team of scholars representing the University of Colorado, the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Moscow State University.