Suchergebnisse

Draws on 1998/99 fieldwork in two Nicaraguan peasant villages to consider whether the relationship between associational membership & the attitudinal elements of social capital exists in the Third World. At issue is whether associational life is linked to horizontal trust & cooperation (ie, reciprocity) or whether associations support vertical & clientelist networks. In addition, some attention is given to the viability of the civil society approach in development practice. An overview of associational life in the villages is provided, highlighting the characteristics of organizational members. The strong Sandinist bias in the villages is explained by the historical evolution of the political opportunity structure, which shaped the nature of associational life while creating & supporting local Sandinist leadership structures. In this light, associational recruitment mechanisms are considered as a way to understand the nonparticipation structure (of Liberals), finding that access to associations & their benefits is impacted by the villages' informal networks; local leaders play a big role in recruiting members. Findings indicate that associations fall into networks, with development efforts dictated by the local structure of the informal networks. Attentions turns to addressing why local leaders provide resources to the "untrustworthy" poorest groups in one village. Thus, the structure & content of its informal networks are scrutinized in search of horizontal forms of cooperation, & their relationship to the more clientelist aspects of associational life pondered. Evidence of horizontal cooperation & trust is overwhelmingly present in the village; why this is so is examined. In closing, policy recommendations are offered, stressing the need to revise the civil society development perspective. 2 Tables, 34 References. J. Zendejas

Associational life is generally considered an important aspect of social capital. In this article we argue that, in the Nicaraguan context, trust, reciprocity and cooperation are not necessarily linked with formal organisational patterns. Getting a grip on both the structure and the content of social capital implies studying informal relations and networks. The article highlights how informal patterns can influence the functioning and performance of development projects. Based on the evaluations of several development projects, two rural communities (Nicaragua) were investigated on their informal support networks. Since peasants regularly need extra labour force on the field, the research focuses on how these needs are dealt with. The different transactional mechanisms found in the field indicate a variety of informal patterns. Furthermore the data suggest that villages can differ greatly in displaying dominant mechanisms. Informal labour-exchange mechanisms can give a good (though partial) indication of social capital in both villages.