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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Bridging community associations in post-conflict Burundi: the difficult merging of social capital endowments and new 'institutional settings'
Authors:Vervisch, ThomasISNI
Titeca, KristofISNI
Year:2010
Periodical:Journal of Modern African Studies (ISSN 0022-278X)
Volume:48
Issue:3
Pages:485-511
Language:English
Geographic term:Burundi
Subjects:associations
social networks
peacebuilding
aid agencies
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/40864766
Abstract:Associations have been labelled the main 'building blocks' for creating social capital. It has been argued that community associations need to transform 'bonding' into 'bridging' ties to 'reach out' while also creating 'linking' ties to 'scale up' the impact of the associations. External development agencies promoting the creation of associations follow a reverse logic: they assume that linking ties with the external intervener will reinforce prior social capital endowments. This article highlights the inherent difficulties of such a 'social engineering' approach in the context of post-conflict reconstruction, describing three development interventions by American-based NGOs in the north of Burundi. It defines the process of 'institutional syncretism' - merging local with global institutional settings - as a key element to social capital building. The findings illustrate how the three interventions failed to reach this objective, and question 'bridging' associations as 'universal blueprints' for restoring social cohesion within the liberal peace model for postconflict reconstruction. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]
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