Atlas: Social Capital Theory and Local Development by Carlos Milani

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ISTR Sixth International Conference
Toronto, Canada / July 11-14, 2004
Contesting Citizenship and Civil Society in a Divided World

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Social Capital Theory and Local Development
by
Carlos Milani
Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Núcleo de Estudos sobre Poder e Organizações Locais (NEPOL)

Academic literature and international reports on social capital tend to acknowledge that economic factors are not enough to yield socially and environmentally balanced development. They generally stress that economic growth does not necessarily and directly result in social development; they underline that institutions and social embeddedness are key elements in trying to solve the problem of access to and distribution of economic benefits, they reaffirm that civic engagement, social networks, norms of mutual confidence and freedom of association are central factors in local development (both in rural and urban settings). However, there is no novelty in re-stating that social, institutional, and cultural dimensions have a major qualitative impact in the communication between individuals and social players, in the production of innovative forms of social interaction and in the reduction of the traditional dilemmas of collective action. Local development needs economic growth, but cannot be triggered off only by growth. Local development is obviously rooted in cultures and historical contexts. Local development can be considered as an ensemble of cultural, economic, political and social intersectoral and multi-scale activities, which are part and parcel of a local project of social transformation. This project assumes a high level of interdependence among the several social and economic sectors (politics, law, education, economics, environment, technology, culture) and players from local to global scales. As a result, it is fundamental that local development be conceived of as a project embedded in the market, but also in social, political and cultural dimensions. Thus, the innovative character of social capital theory does not stem from reaffirming the relevance of these dimensions in local development. What are the origins and premises of this theory? What can a critical analysis of this theory bring about in the understanding of local development? In what does social capital differ from social control, civic participation, political culture or civic culture? How to rigorously develop a concept that is in-between economic, cultural, social and political dimensions? Does it represent an epistemological progress when we consider the current attempts in building new categories to explain and read the reality of local development? What is its heuristic value? How does the analysis of local development in Bahia question and contribute to the understanding of social capital? In this article, based on a critical review of definitions of social capital and a field research being conducted in the countryside of Bahia (in the North-East of Brazil), the author tries to understand why and how social capital can help to explain changes in local power structures in Brazil. In this attempt, the author emphasizes that the strength of this concept lies in its analytical and normative dimensions: social capital can help us understand differences among local development experiences and also be a policy tool for action. Thus, this article is divided into two main parts: in the first one, the author makes a critical review of social capital theory and analyze the reasons why international agencies may have a stake in developing such a concept; in the second one, the author elaborates on our own definition of social capital and analyze its linkages with local development policies in general.

Date received: September 15, 2003