Social capital and political participation in South Africa

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Empirical research on the impact of membership in voluntary associations as a dimension ofsocial capital on political participation has been conducted in a number of countries in Europe aswell as North America. With the aid of quantitative analysis of survey data, these studies foundthat members of voluntary associations were more likely to participate both formally andinformally in their country's political processes than those who were not members. This was dueto the role played by voluntary associations in the generation of human capital in the form ofself-efficacy and participatory skills or values, as well as bridging social capital in the form ofincreased networking and trust. Existing research by Marion Keim, Cora Burnett and others haveindicated that social capital, and particularly the voluntary association of sport, can have aprofound societal impact on South African communities. However, no quantitative study hasbeen conducted on the relationship between membership in voluntary associations and the levelof formal political participation in the South African context.Therefore, this study applied the social capital theory as developed in the literature on Europeanand North American studies to the South African context in order to determine whether there is arelationship between the variables of membership in voluntary associations, membership inmultiple associations, membership in sports as a voluntary association and the level of formalpolitical participation. Using quantitative methodology, a cross-section of 2006 World ValuesSurvey data was analysed. The findings indicated that the social capital theory on politicalparticipation did not apply to the South African context in the same way as to the European orNorth American contexts due to explanatory differences in South Africa's socio-politicalclimate. Questions were then raised over whether, due to South Africa's current political culture,membership in voluntary associations is conducive to encouraging informal channels ofparticipation. The findings reached had implications for social capital theory by indicating itsuneven application to the South African context. Moreover, the study highlighted the need for amore context-specific understanding of social capital and its impact upon South Africa's politicalprocesses.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University