Comparative Politics of Social Capital

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This study is to investigate European societies and politics in terms of "social capital," an important concept in the field of contemporary comparative politics developed above all by Robert A. Putnam. Putnam assumed that a "strong society" with firm social capital like voluntary associations, mutual trust would lead to a "strong state" and a "strong economy," as have often been claimed in the American context. But our findings, based on comparison between the European Union, Germany, France, Southern and Northern Europe, show many different sets of logics behind the civil societies and the public spaces. First, in the European context, not only the social capital but also those things which can be termed "political capital" (partisan organization and sub-cultures) and "institutional capital" such as welfare states and semi-public intermediate channels (which "neo-Huntingtonians" put emphases on) have built comprehensive interdependent/interlocking structures in the public spaces. Second, Internalionalization/Europeanization has ambivalent repercussions on the social capital and democracy. In a case like Germany, the tradition of social (organization) coordination is revived partly in the EU governance structure. On the contrary, fiscal standardization and even the programs of raising civil society activities and NGOs make risk of derogation of autonomous development of civil societies in cases like Central and South Eastern Europe.