Social capital and rural development research in Chile. A qualitative review and quantitative analysis based on academic articles

Abstract

The Bourdieusian and Putnamian traditions guide scientific debate on social capital at international level. Nevertheless, the recent literature by non-Western scholars has progressively widened the discussion by investigating in what way social capital could be further studied in different cultural contexts and traditions. Among these, Chile constitutes a compelling case study. Since the 1970s, the dictatorship has dismantled enclaves of collective action, especially in rural areas where agrarian reform was progressing towards an equal distribution of assets. Moreover, since the 1990s the neoliberal model, although mitigated by the growth with equity approach , has over time attested to asymmetric power relations reflected on the unequal distribution of wealth and high level of poverty specifically in rural areas. Specifically, the twofold aims of the paper are to: (i) identify key research priorities and specific contributions of Chilean literature to the international debate and, (ii) analyse how the Bourdieusian and Putnamian theoretical traditions on social capital have influenced the Chilean discussion. Consequently, a qualitative review of selected articles is presented and complemented with a quantitative analysis performed through network graphs of authors and journals, and bibliographic ratios. The results specify the five research priorities addressing causal links between social capital and (i) the environment, (ii) indigenous communities, (iii) political demand and public policies, (iv) participation, and (v) marketing strategies and market dynamics. Furthermore, results evidence the complementary role of Bourdieusian and Putnamian traditions in the Chilean discussion, which are considered synergic by scholars. • The results specify the five research priorities addressing causal links between social capital and the enviroment, indigenous communities, political demand and public policies, participation and, marketing strategies and merket dynamics. • In terms of the Bourdieusian and Putnamian theoretical perspectives on social capital, Chilean literature embraces both the theorisations, with a slight preference to the Bourdieusian one. • Since the 1990's the neo-liberal model applied in Chilean rural areas has been centred on vertical networks linking rural spaces to the global agro-food chain, with detrimental environmental, social, and economic externalities on peasants and indigenous populations. • The neo-liberal model has paid less attention to the role of horizontal social networks in local development processes, which in the long run could make the model unsustainable as recent social movements in Chile are already evidencing.