Urban Narratives on the Changing Nature of Social Capital in Post-Communist Romania

Special thanks to the 69 informants who generously offered their time and views; and to the editor and peer reviewers for their insightful comments. The qualitative part of this research was conducted as part of the first author’s PhD research at King’s College London and affectionate thanks go to her supervisor, Professor Chris Hamnett. The qualitative/quantitative collaboration started when both authors were affiliated with Tilburg University, the Netherlands.

Abstract

Drawing on 69 interviews and information from the World Values Surveys, we examine discursive understandings of social capital in Romania. We evidence two dominant explanatory metanarratives on the weakness of social capital (‘communism’ and ‘ethnocentric individualism’) and dilemmas regarding generational and urban/rural differences, which our mixed-methods approach helps decode. Contemporary processes of institutionalisation and commodification have further weakened practices of social capital but such processes are socially approved for their potential of breaking with lingering practices of corruption, bribery and favouritism, and of achieving institutional fairness. Convergence with mature democracies is unlikely not because of passive legacies or ill-adapted actors but because people have different aspirations, well suited to the context of post-communist transformation.

Notes

1 See also Rose et al. (2008).

2 For open access data see Inglehart et al. (2014).

3 Interview with Mr I.I., 56 years old and Mrs I.E., 52 years old, Pitesti, 16 March 2008.

4 Interview with Miss S.G., 50 years old, Pitesti, 24 May 2008.

5 Interview with Mr P.S., 48 years old, Pitesti, 29 March 2008.

6 Interview with Mr D.I., 64 years old, Pitesti, 30 January 2008.

7 Interview with Mr B.I., 68 years old, Pitesti, 2 October 2007.

8 Interview with Mrs M.G., 65 years old, Pitesti, 20 April 2008.

9 The social practice of using one’s social network/‘connections’ to reach persons of authority in order to obtain preferential treatment either in exchange for a bribe or for future reciprocity. A ‘heavy traffic’ means one is well connected and asks frequently for all kind of favours; a ‘dirty traffic’ means additional immorality through the nature of what is preferentially obtained, for example, basic food or medicine compared to a book. The expression has its own Wikipedia page.

10 Interview with Mr S.A., 54 years old, Pitesti, 4 July 2008.

11 Interview with Mr C.I., 59 years old, Pitesti, 5 January 2008.

12 Interview with Mr G.C., 57 years old, Pitesti, 21 December 2007.

13 Interview with Mrs D.E., 39 years old, Pitesti, 15 March 2008.

14 In a RCA, each member saves monthly an equal amount of money into a common fund, with a single member withdrawing in turn the lump sum each month; the process continues until everyone receives their lump sum. They were common in communism among small groups of work colleagues, being exclusively based on trust.

15 Mrs I.S.; interview with Mr I.C., 36 years old and Mrs I.S., 38 years old, Pitesti, 24 April 2008.

16 Interview with Mr S.S., 40 years old, Pitesti, 4 October 2007.

17 Interview with Mrs S.M., female, 40 years old, Pitesti, 10 October 2007.

18 Interview with Mr U.A., 36 years old, Pitesti, 12 February 2008.

19 Interview with Mrs P.A., 34 years old, Pitesti, 10 April 2008.

20 Interview with Miss T.T., 51 years old, Pitesti, 24 March 2008.

21 Mr A.P.; interview with Mr A.P., 33 years old and Mrs A.M., 35 years old, Pitesti, 5 July 2008.

22 Among the 48 interviewed residents, 12 paid ‘idle’ memberships in trade unions and professional associations; and 18 participants were absolutely opposed to ever joining any type of organisation.

23 These were related to various local issues in the neighbourhood (such as, children’s playgrounds, footpaths, green spaces, homeless people, parking, public lighting, stray dogs, traffic signs, problems with utilities), or to the larger scale of the city (such as, city parks, corruption, local budget, planning transparency, public land restitution to prior owners that affected the neighbourhood or the city).

24 Interview with Mr B.I., 68 years old, Pitesti, 2 October 2007.

25 Interview with Mr U.A., 36 years old, Pitesti, 12 February 2008.

26 Interview with Mrs D.L., 50 years old, Pitesti, 11 February 2008.

27 Interview with Mr F.M., 35 years old, Pitesti, 19 January 2008.

28 Interview with Mrs C.M., 46 years old, Pitesti, 10 December 2007.

29 Mrs C.G.; interview with Mr C.A., 36 years old and Mrs C.G., 34 years old, Pitesti, 20 December 2007.

30 Interview with Mrs A.E., 27 years old, Pitesti, 14 February 2008.

31 Interview with Miss T.T., 51 years old, Pitesti, 24 March 2008.

32 Interview with Mr P.I., 52 years old, Pitesti, 15 February 2008.

33 Interview with Miss B.C., 47 years old, Pitesti, 25 April 2008.

34 Mr J.C.; interview with Mr J.C., 38 years old and Mrs J.E., 35 years old, Pitesti, 15 December 2007.

35 Mrs J.E.; interview with Mr J.C., 38 years old and Mrs J.E., 35 years old, Pitesti, 15 December 2007.

36 Interview with Mrs A.E., 27 years old, Pitesti, 14 February 2008.

37 Interview with Mrs M.A., 58 years old, Pitesti, 4 June 2008.

38 Interview with Miss Z.A., 20 years old, Pitesti, 12 April 2008.

39 Interview with Mrs A.E., 27 years old, Pitesti, 14 February 2008.

40 Mrs I.E.; interview with Mr I.I. 56 years old and Mrs I.E., 52 years old, Pitesti 16 March 2008.

41 Interview with Mrs G.N., 32 years old, Pitesti, 29 January 2008.

42 Interview with Miss O.A., 19 years old, Pitesti, 8 December 2007.

43 Across waves, the post-communist cluster averages increased from 21% to 24%; the post-authoritarian ones decreased from 22% to 17% whereas those for the older democracies increased from 41% to 43%.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Adriana Mihaela Soaita

Adriana Mihaela Soaita, Urban Studies, University of Glasgow, Olympia Building, Third Floor, Bridgeton Cross, Glasgow, G40 2LQ, UK. Email: [email protected]

Barend Wind

Barend Wind, Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen, PO Box 72, Groningen 9700 AB, Netherlands. Email: [email protected]