The Association between Social Capital and Voting Participation in Three Developing Democracies in Africa

Jack Chola Bwalya,Prasanth Sukumar

doi:10.5539/jpl.v11n1p42

Abstract

Numerous empirical research studies posit that social capital has a positive influence on peoples’ political participation. Studies conducted in developed western democracies have revealed that social capital strengthens democratic institutions by impacting both the quantity and quality of citizens’ political participation. However, in the developing democracies of Africa, the effects of social capital on political participation remain under-researched. This paper aims to empirically examine whether the interrelation between social capital and political participation holds true in the developing democracies of Africa. By operationalising the concept of social capital as membership in civic associations, this paper examines the influence of social capital on peoples’ voting participation in three Southern African countries, viz. Botswana, Namibia and Zambia. Using data from the sixth round of the Afrobarometer Survey, this study found that social capital was strongly linked to voting participation in these countries.

Highlights

In his 1993 classic study, “Making Democracy Work”, Robert Putnam (1993) demonstrated that social capital has a direct effect on political participation
The following inferences can be made from the analysis: 1) Social capital has a positive influence on voting participation in the study countries
Widner & Mundt’s (1998) study explored the relationship between social capital and governmental effectiveness in Botswana and Uganda, finding that there is a weak relationship between social capital and government effectiveness in both Botswana and Uganda

Summary

Introduction

In his 1993 classic study, “Making Democracy Work”, Robert Putnam (1993) demonstrated that social capital has a direct effect on political participation. By studying the Italian civic traditions, Putnam could link the performance of regional governments to the historical legacies of community participation in social organisations. Putnam’s main argument is that the more people participate in civic associations, better the government, the consequence of which is the improvement of the effectiveness of democratic institutions In the advanced democracies of the Western world, a number of researchers have found that social capital helps to maintain the development of democracy by influencing both the quantity and quality of political participation (Anderson, 2010; Fukuyama, 1995; Mayer, 2003; Moyser & Parry, 1997; Norris, 2002; Paxton, 2002; Putnam, 2001)

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