Bonding and Bridging Social Capital: Reflections from Belfast

The purpose of this article is to question whether the concept of social capital has anything original to offer for understanding why some communities have weaker networks compared to others. Drawing on an empirical example from Belfast, the article illustrates that the themes embedded in social capital have a long history. Moreover, rather than a benign phenomenon, social capital excludes as well as includes community members within its networks. While Putnam (2000) tries to deal with this negative effect through his distinction between ‘bonding’ and ‘bridging’ social capital, his analysis is flawed. Moving from bonding to bridging social capital is beset with contradictions. In order to set in motion the framework for bridging social capital to emerge, the conditions that led to the development of bonding social capital need to be undermined. However, removing the rationale for the existence of bonding social capital by no means ensures that the path is paved for the development of bridging social capital.The article examines some of the problematic aspects of this transition through an examination of community networks and relationships in one Catholic community in West Belfast. Here, the wider political conflict in Northern Ireland facilitated the development of bonding social capital, while the peace process provided opportunities for bridging social capital to strengthen and develop. The example indicates that the exclusion aspect of social capital persists in the transition from bonding to bridging social capital.