Mechanisms of Social Capital from Macro-Comparative Perspectives

Social capital is the function of meso-level social structures, primarily composed of social networks, trust, and norms of reciprocity, enabling people's actions (especially cooperative actions) that would not otherwise occur. Social structures have different characteristics from country to country and region to region, shaped by religious contexts, family systems and community organizations, and the historical development of modernization and political institutions as well. How does the functioning of social capital depend, or does it not depend, on these social structural characteristics determined by the more macro social and cultural context? While there has been a wealth of international comparative research on the workings of weak ties and differences in the levels and substance of general trust, the context-dependent mechanisms of social capital remain largely unclear. This session aims to elucidate the meso-level mechanisms of social capital and seeks research that discusses them from a comparative perspective that takes macro social and cultural contexts into account. Research on a single country or region is acceptable, provided the comparative perspective is clear. Quantitative studies, case studies, or theoretical modeling and simulation studies are all welcome. We particularly welcome research that takes into account the unique social structural characteristics of East Asia. At a time when the sustainable construction of civil societies based on cooperation among people are being questioned at various levels and in various aspects, I hope that the discussions in this session will offer a positive vision.