Perceptions of institutions and social capital accumulation: A social categorization and shared agency‐based approach. Evidence from the Russian Federation

Abstract

The integration of institutionalist and communitarian views of social capital accumulation is increasingly advocated in order to analyse civil society dynamics, in particular in transitional countries such as former socialist states. The present paper is an attempt at reconciling the two views through a micro level‐focused approach. Such a perspective allows investigating linkages between institutional perception, civic engagement, and trust in society, with the support of social cognition frameworks (social categorization and shared agency). The approach emphasizes the linkages existing between trust toward institutions and perceptions of civic empowerment on the one hand, and civic engagement and trust in society on the other, while also taking into account the role of interpersonal (informal) networking. The analysis, carried out through structural equation modelling, is based on more than 2,000 observations from two federal districts of the Russian Federation. The results show a relevant positive correlation between institutional perception and social capital, and a moderate correlation between bonding (personal networking) and trust in society; on the other hand, civic engagement and trust in society appear to be uncorrelated with each other and with different forms of institutional perception.