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Political Support: Social Capital, Civil Society and Political and Economic Performance

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  • Kenneth Newton

Abstract

This article assesses two main theories of the decline of political support that is found in many western democracies. The first is society centred and built on the concepts of social capital, trust and civil society. The second is politics centred and focuses on the performance of government and the economy. The two theories are not necessarily incompatible, but they are usually treated in a mutually exclusive way. In this article they are tested against a combination of aggregate cross‐national comparative data and detailed case studies of four countries that have suffered exceptional decline of political support for politicians, political institutions and the systems of government. The puzzle is that cross‐national comparative evidence about a large and diverse number of nations supports social capital theory, whereas in‐depth study of four countries that have experienced substantial decline of political support does not. The erosion of support coincides in all four with poor economic and/or political performance. A way of reconciling the two theories and their supporting evidence is suggested, arguing that while social capital is a necessary foundation for democratic support, it is not a sufficient cause.

Suggested Citation

  • Kenneth Newton, 2006. "Political Support: Social Capital, Civil Society and Political and Economic Performance," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 54(4), pages 846-864, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:polstu:v:54:y:2006:i:4:p:846-864
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9248.2006.00634.x
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    2. Konstantin A. Kholodilin & Vyacheslav N. Ovchinnikov & Marina Yu. Malkina & Igor A. Moiseev, 2021. "Two Dimensions of Political Trust in Russia," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1934, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    3. Jēkabsone Inga & Sloka Biruta, 2016. "Social Capital, Well-Being and Municipality: Salaspils Municipality (Latvia) Case," Economics and Culture, Sciendo, vol. 13(1), pages 65-75, June.
    4. Kjell Andersson & Stefan Sjöblom, 2013. "Localism in Finland: The changing role and current crisis of the Finnish municipal system," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 28(3), pages 240-256, May.
    5. Peter Kotzian, 2014. "Good Governance and Norms of Citizenship: An Investigation into the System- and Individual-Level Determinants of Attachment to Civic Norms," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 73(1), pages 58-83, January.
    6. Christopher Carman, 2010. "The Process is the Reality: Perceptions of Procedural Fairness and Participatory Democracy," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 58(4), pages 731-751, October.
    7. Sorace, Miriam, 2018. "The European Union democratic deficit: substantive representation in the European Parliament at the input stage," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 87625, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Matteo Migheli, 2016. "Behind the Wall: What Remains of the “Communist Legacy” in Contemporary Europe," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 127(2), pages 671-690, June.
    9. Patricio Valdivieso & Benjamín Villena-Roldán, 2012. "Participation in Organizations, Trust, and Social Capital Formation: Evidence from Chile," Documentos de Trabajo 293, Centro de Economía Aplicada, Universidad de Chile.
    10. Gustavo Gouvêa Maciel & Luís de Sousa, 2018. "Legal Corruption and Dissatisfaction with Democracy in the European Union," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 140(2), pages 653-674, November.
    11. Miriam Sorace, 2018. "The European Union democratic deficit: Substantive representation in the European Parliament at the input stage," European Union Politics, , vol. 19(1), pages 3-24, March.
    12. Dietlind Stolle & Marc Morjé Howard, 2008. "Civic Engagement and Civic Attitudes in Cross‐National Perspective: Introduction to the Symposium," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 56(1), pages 1-11, March.
    13. Geys, Benny, 2007. "How to make head or tail of bridging and bonding? Adressing the methodological ambiguity [Wie ist ‘Briding vs. Bonding’ sozialer Netzwerke zu verstehen? Das Problem der methodischen Zweideutigkeit]," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Market Processes and Governance SP II 2007-11, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    14. Alexander De Juan & Jan Henryk Pierskalla, 2016. "Civil war violence and political trust: Microlevel evidence from Nepal," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 33(1), pages 67-88, February.
    15. Grießhaber, Nicolas & Geys, Benny, 2011. "Civic engagement and corruption in 20 European democracies," Discussion Papers, Research Professorship & Project "The Future of Fiscal Federalism" SP II 2011-103, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.

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