Government action, social capital and development: Reviewing the evidence on synergy

Abstract

Instead of assuming a zero-sum relationship between government involvement and private cooperative efforts, the five preceding articles argue for the possibility of “state-society synergy,” that active government and mobilized communities can enhance each others' developmental efforts. This article draws on these articles to explore the forms and sources of state-society synergy. I argue that synergy usually combines complementarity with embeddedness and is most easily fostered in societies characterized by egalitarian social structures ard robust, coherent state bureaucracies. I also argue, however, that synergy is constructable, even in the more adverse circumstances typical of Third World countries.