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Social Capital, Civil Society, and Patron-Client Relationships in Political Participation

This analysis delves into the intricate links between social capital, civil society, and patron-client relationships in political participation. Drawing on Robert Putnam's insights from "Bowling Alone," we explore how social trust, networks, and norms foster cooperation for mutual benefit. We question the role of social capital in liberal democracy and discuss factors influencing its generation. Additionally, we evaluate clientelism, examining its impact on political culture, ideological politics, and the health of civil society. This discourse also addresses the concerns of post-materialism and socio-political transformations.

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Social Capital, Civil Society, and Patron-Client Relationships in Political Participation

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  1. Political Participation -- II Patron-client relationships… Social capital and civil society…

  2. Social capital and civil society: • “Social capital refers to features of social organization such as networks, norms, and social trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit” Robert Putnam, “Bowling Alone” • Civil society: • sometimes used as a surrogate for society • Defined as a society capable ofself organization -- thus capable of organizing itself

  3. Where does social capital come from? • Wealth? • Education? • Organizations and situations which stimulate trust?

  4. Some questions: • Are social capital and civil society prerequisites of liberal democracy? • What kinds of participation generate social capital? • Direct face-to-face participation? • Participation in `credit card’ organizations? • Is social capital declining? (Robert Putnam’s argument in “Bowling Alone”)

  5. Patron-Client Relations • An exchange relationship in which participation in politics is mediated through one or more intermediaries or patrons (clientelism) • Clients, at the base, give support to patrons, in exchange for specific benefits, such as jobs, favours, preferential treatment • Lower-level patrons provide support to higher level patrons, in exchange for benefits or resources • Politicians and/or bureaucrats use their control of government to generate resources for intermediaries (patronage)

  6. Clientelistic relationships more likely to occur in: • Places or regions in which the population is dependent on government largesse for its economic survival (e.g peripheral or less developed regions) • Populations in larger systems unable to fend for themselves (e.g., peasants, immigrants) • Transitional or less developed societies • Countries in which complex regulations enable politicians and bureaucrats to generate patronage

  7. What difference does it make? • Impact of clientelism on political culture? • How well does clientelism mesh with • Ideological politics? • Post-materialism? • Are patron-client relationships compatible with a civil society? • Does clientelism develop or destroy social capital?

  8. Who gets what, when, and how?--Harold Lasswell • Do the phenomena of post-materialism and the `more the more’ hypothesis mean that the demands of the poor and the working classes are always neglected?

  9. Problem: • Do post-materialism and the `more the more’ hypothesis address the same question? • Does one tell you more about who participates and the other more about the values of those who participate? • What difference does post-materialism make? • Or can the power of numbers counter the advantages of access and skill?

  10. When do revolutions occur? • The ‘J-curve’ hypothesis: revolutions do not occur in abjectly poor societies, but rather in those in which there has been some improvement.

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