Civic Association and Democratic Participation in Central America: A Test of the Putnam Thesis

In an attempt to build on and refine Putnam's thesis that participation in associations produces better democracy, this article seeks to determine two things. First, are his findings replicable in Central America? Second, is participation in all forms of associations equally generative of democ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Comparative political studies 1999-05, Vol.32 (3), p.342-362
Main Author: SELIGSON, AMBER L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Associations
Central America
Citizen participation
Citizens
Civil Society
Community development
Comparative politics
Democracy
Government and politics
Latin America
Membership
Organizations
Participation
Political conditions
Political culture
Political participation
Political science
Political sociology
Political systems
Political Theory
Social participation
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Summary:In an attempt to build on and refine Putnam's thesis that participation in associations produces better democracy, this article seeks to determine two things. First, are his findings replicable in Central America? Second, is participation in all forms of associations equally generative of democracy, as Putnam suggests? In this study, Putnam's thesis is tested with survey samples drawn from all of the six Spanish-speaking countries in Central America. The author finds that although participation in community improvement associations is a consistent predictor of democratic behavior at an individual level, participation in other kinds of associations is not.
ISSN:0010-4140
1552-3829
DOI:10.1177/0010414099032003003