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Description:
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This dissertation addresses generalized trust in Post -Communist Europe . I
examine trust stressing two sets of factors : the impact of attitudes associated with
cleavages coming out of transition to democracy , and the importance of informal
interpersonal association over more formal , structured forms of association . I argue that
the classic list of cleavages suggested by Lipset and Rokkan (1967 ) have less importance
to trust since those cleavages developed under the communist one -party state and were
therefore less connected to the party system . As a result , these classic cleavages did not
have the same mobilization functions as they did in Western Europe . Instead , I argue
that cleavages that have developed out of the transition to democracy and a free -market
economic system bear greater importance to trust .
I further argue that due to the experience of forced group association during the
communist era , and lingering distaste for formal political participation , the familiar
Western models of the benefits of social engagement underestimate the importance of
informal association in the post -communist states . Informal association was a key
component of survival during the communist era and continues to be a valuable means
of conferring information and forming political judgments . The first contribution this dissertation makes is that it brings together theories of
political cleavages with theories of trust and social capital development . The
dissertation bridges the gap between societal divisions and the position of the individual
within these divisions . A second contribution of the dissertation is the testing of
established theories of formal social engagement in post -communist states . The
secretive nature of association during the communist era differs greatly from the open
nature of association in the West . Theories of trust and social capital development must
take this fact into account when exploring post -communist states . |