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Factor Analysis Of Social Capital In Rural Governance--Empirical Study Of Some Villages In Counties And Cities Of Shandong And Hubei Province, China

Posted on:2005-10-16Degree:DoctorType:Dissertation
Country:ChinaCandidate:H Y ZhouFull Text:PDF
GTID:1117360152967885Subject:Sociology
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
This paper is a case study of rural governance in China from the perspective of social capital theory. It contains seven chapters: 1) Preface; 2) Social Capital and Social Capital Theory; 3) Governance Theory and Village Governance; 4) Social Capital and the Village Elite; 5) Social Capital and the Structure of Village Governance; 6) Social Capital and the Process of Village Governance; 7) Conclusion and Discussion. In my opinion, social capital is a general and explanatory concept. Social capital tends to be regarded simply as "relations" or "capital of relations" in China. Actually, they cannot replace the concept of social capital, which are regarded to be the capital to achieve personal or private goals in Chinese society. In this paper, the author thinks that social capital is a kind of engagement network. It exists in a specific community and is characterized by trust, mutual benefits, norm of reciprocity and cooperation. Social capital comes from a particular social structure. This definition stresses that the key to social capital are trust, mutual benefits, norm of reciprocity and cooperation. The carrier that embodies these three main elements is the engagement network. It constitutes individuals sharing identity. According to this definition, the paper classifies social capital in rural China into four kinds: 1) kin and clan network; 2) network of symbolic activities; 3) network of functional organizations; and 4) network of connections. The author finds from the case study that these four kinds of social capital are neither equal to "network of relations" or "capital of relations", nor to village culture. Besides, non-institutional factors cannot cover all connotation of social capital. Therefore, the contents and scope of social capital are relatively definite. The paper shows how social capital influences the village elite as well as the structure and process of village governance. The author tries to disclose the specific mechanism by which social capital affects village governance. It is discovered through case study that the four kinds of social capital have direct and deep influence on the conformation of, the village elite, their governing behavior, and the structure and result of village governance. Furthermore, the paper brings forward some suggestions to foster positive social capital, restrain negative social capital, and improve village governance. It seems there has been no systematical study of village governance from the perspective of social capital in China's academic circle. In this sense, it is somewhat an initiative study. Of course, the main factors for explaining village governance are political and economical ones. But the inherent factors that influence village governance are pluralist, and many non-economical and non-political factors do play a very important role in rural society. Social capital as an approach will help people attach importance to non-institutional factors except political and economical ones, pay more attention to social relations and social capital which hide in the social structure of rural society, and recognize the importance of social capital so as to better understand social life in rural China.
Keywords/Search Tags:social capital, village governance, engagement network
PDF Full Text Request
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