Participation and Democracy: Dynamics, Causes ... - Jacobs University

differ in their capability to accumulate productive social capital because they differ in the
degree to which people can be educated, contacted and mobilized through formal
channels of associations (and people not being part of such networks).
Others, however, have argued that social capital has the potential to be more productive
when networks in a society are stronger and more diverse, meaning if the society is
steeped in a variety of different horizontal ties. Assuming that the productivity of social
capital in a society should increase the more its members are interconnected, Figure 7-4
looks at the average number of associational membership. Also this measure of the
structural aspect of social capital is highly correlated with elite-challenging activities (r =
.89 *** ).
Figure 7-4:
Elite-Challenging Activities and Average Membership in European
Societies (ESS 2002)
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Elite-challenging activities, in %
70
60
50
40
30
Italy
Spain
UK
Germany
Finland
Belgium
Ireland
Israel
Sweden
Denmark
Luxembourg Norway
Austria
Netherlands
20
10
Poland
Greece
Hungary
Portugal
Slovenia
0
0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 1.20 1.40 1.60 1.80 2.00 2.20 2.40 2.60
Average number of memberships
Source: European Social Survey, 2002. Data are weighted to correct for a sampling bias within each sample (design
weight). R = .89 *** .
Elite-challenging activities: Percentage of respondents who “Have done” any of the following activities in the past 12
month: Signed petition, taken part in a lawful demonstration, boycotted certain products, or deliberately bought certain
products for political, ethical or environmental reasons.
Average number of membership: see previous figures for the different organizations.
The fact that the vast majority of the social capital literature has focused on voluntary
associations (be it active or passive membership) has not escaped criticism. It has a long
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