Social Capital and Participation in Everyday Life

This timely volume puts emphasis on the effect of social capital on everyday life: how the routines of daily life lead people to get involved in their communities. Focussing on its micro-level causes and consequences the book's international contributors argue that social capital is fundamentally concerned with the value of social networks and about how people interact with each other. <br>The book suggests that different modes of participation have different consequences for creating - or destroying - a sense of community or participation. The diversity of countries institutions and groups dealt with - from Indian castes to Dutch churches from highly competent 'everyday makers' in Scandinavia to politics-avoiding Belgian women and Irish villagers - offers fascinating case studies and theoretical reflections for the present debates about civil society and democracy.