Social Capital in Flanders: Associations and Democratic Political Culture

Associations make an important contribution to the social capital within a society, as shown by international research. They connect people with each other and with the public cause, they offer a dam against individualization and they ensure the dissemination of democratic values.
In Social capital in Flanders, political scientist and sociologist Marc Hooghe examines how we can explain this effect of associations. His thesis is that associations cultivate and reinforce certain values: not all associations automatically contribute to the formation of a democratic political culture, but only those associations in which these values ​​also receive the necessary attention. Hooghe supports his thesis with material from a unique population study from Flanders, but his research, which builds on the work of American political scientist Robert Putnam, is aimed at an international audience. Associations are not a panacea against individualization and intolerance, but they can make a modest contribution.