Geographical narratives of social capital

Abstract

This paper calls for a re-engagement by geographers with the concept of social capital as a vehicle for framing narratives about socio-economic processes in context. Social capital theory is reviewed to illustrate how the desire for simplicity and parsimony in economics results in abstract theories of the social that erase context and reduce space to a static form. Going beyond this critique, a geographical framework is proposed for a revised social capital research agenda to produce social capital narratives grounded in the everyday practices of power, played out in real-world, sociospatial contexts.

Transnational social capital: the socio‐spatialities of civil society

“…These groups focus on seemingly local concerns, yet geographically distant relations that extend beyond the aspatiality associated with bonding, bridging and linking capital, are crucial to their work (Naughton 2014;Putnam 1993Putnam , 1995Putnam , 2000. While civil society groups in the Caribbean engage in diverse social relations, some of which may be embedded in place, I am interested in the transnational ones in ostensibly local or community-based civil society groups, to which the majority of the research participants belong.…”

“…Through the connections he could evoke in the UK, Walter was able to make use of potential solutions available in the diaspora, about which Grenadians might not have thought or had sufficient capital to access. These forms of social capital are also entangled with power (Naughton 2014) as it circulates between the diaspora and civil society. This is evident, as Trevor mentioned, in the way CSOs reach out to diasporic groups for support, actively making links with them.…”

“…By exploring the social connections that contribute to civil society we can understand its work as both 'intensive, yet also spatially extensive' (Davies 2012: 283). To some extent, these social relations resonate with forms of bonding, bridging and linking capital, but they also articulate the diversity of social relations that sustain civil society work and the need to understand the sometimes very personal stories associated with the formation of social capital, rather than seeing social capital as a stock resource that is available to all (Naughton 2014). These diverse transnational connections shape civil society action in a variety of ways.…”

Introduction: Human and social capital in rural areas

“…However, like other forms of capital, also social capital, under certain circumstances and contexts, can be detrimental or even lose its effectiveness. Owing to the dynamic and variable nature of social capital, not only in-depth analysis of the relationships between agents is required, but also the objectives and the contexts in which they operate (Piselli, 2001;Naughton, 2014).…”

Boosterism as Banishment

“…Scholars have come to apply social banishment to describe and explain the growing contested nature of geography resulting from encroaching public-private enterprises and the use of control and stigmatization to enforce the "rights" and interest of the local power elites (Cook and Whowell 2011;Gibson 2011;Goetz 2013;Harvey 2009;Naughton 2014;Soja 2010). In other words, banishment is a process of institutions imposing "place-based restrictions" in particular social spaces and to maintain that which is considered acceptable public behavior, to enhance notions of personal security, to encourage private economic development, and to maintain dominant societal and cultural norms (Beckett and Herbert 2009).…”