SOCIAL CAPITAL AS A RESOURCE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/pdau.pma.2025.4.3Keywords:
social capital, public administration, trust, governance, public participation, social networks, decentralization, sustainable development, solidarityAbstract
The article explores the concept of social capital as an important intangible resource of public administration and democratic governance. The historical origins of the concept are analyzed – from the works of Lydia Hanifan (1916), who interpreted social capital as the basis of public participation in educational processes, to further theoretical interpretations by James Coleman, Robert Putnam, Pierre Bourdieu, Marc Granovetter and Nan Lin.It is determined that social capital has gradually evolved from understanding it as an individual trait to realizing it as a collective resource that forms the ability of society to self-organize, interact and trust between government and citizens. The content of social capital is revealed as a system of social ties, norms, values and practices of cooperation that contribute to reducing transaction costs, increasing the efficiency of management decisions and strengthening the legitimacy of government. The key structural forms of social capital are identified – intra-group ties, inter-group bridges, and vertical relationships – as institutional mechanisms of communication in the administrative space. It is substantiated that social capital is a necessary condition for the formation of an active civil society, the development of partnership formats of interaction «government – community – business» and the implementation of the principles of open governance. Particular attention is paid to Ukrainian realities, where social capital plays a key role in restoring public trust, strengthening local self-government, and increasing the stability of the state in the conditions of war and post-war challenges. It is emphasized that effective public governance in Ukraine is impossible without the development of horizontal ties, social solidarity, volunteerism, and citizen participation in decision-making. Social capital, thus, acts as an integration factor and strategic resource for the modernization of public administration, which corresponds to the paradigm of social solidarity as a resource of public administration.
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