SOCIAL CAPITAL AND SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRACY IN EAST CENTRAL EUROPE
SOCIAL CAPITAL AND SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRACY IN EAST CENTRAL EUROPE

Summary/Abstract: In this paper I explore the relationship between social capital and support for democracy in 14 Central and Eastern European countries. I contextualize the discussion on social capital and democratic consolidation through the European Union's regional policy. Thus, the European Union seems to reward countries with high levels of social capital, without actually tackling the problem of social capital formation in instances where such resource is scarce. Consequently, I operationalize social capital as interpersonal trust and involvement in civic organization, and assess the effects of these factors on support for democracy and market economy. The results show that while trust is positively associated with both dependent variables in all countries included in the research, involvement in civic organizations is a predictor of support for democracy and market economy only in the more "advanced" democracies of Central Europe. In less "advanced" democracies involvement in any kind of organization is positively associated with both dependent variables, thus suggesting an under institutionalization of civil society in the less consolidated democracies of the European Union.

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