Moral Resources and Political Capital: Theorizing the Relationship Between Voluntary Service Organizations and the Development of Civil Society in China
Abstract
How can voluntary service organizations (VSOs) emerge and survive in a relatively conservative social and political environment? How can such organizations contribute to the development of civil society in contemporary China? To answer these questions, this study applies the qualitative approach and a triangulation of methods to a case study of the city of Jinan. The findings indicate that self-chosen moral resource I, socially recognized moral resource II, ascribed political capital I, and self-achieved political capital II are the key elements that have an impact on the development of civil society in China. Moral resource I is crucial to the success of VSOs in promoting civil society, whereas moral resource II, political capital I, and political capital II may help them to gain the government’s trust, thus facilitating their survival and growth in a relatively conservative social and political environment.
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1.
1. For instance, Sotiropoulos’ (2005) study, which was conducted in Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia-Montenegro, and Romania, also indicated that both “positive social capital” and “negative social capital” exists among southeast European counties. The former “is understood as reciprocal, social, and economic relationships that facilitate economic exchange,” and the latter “may be understood as relationships found in protective guilds or local levels that funsisms as excluding mechanisms and do not bring benefits to the wider society” (p. 246).
2.
2. First, the thought pattern of the coordinate is not opposed, but is a continuum. Thus although this coordinate abstracts the features of NGOs, it does not neglect the multiplicity of NGOs in reality. Second, “Community” here refers to traditional geographical communities. Virtual communities in Cyberspace (e.g., Bulletin Board System[BBS], Newsgroups, etc.) are not included.
3.
3. According to Pickert (2003), most voluntary organizations exist in a spectrum that ranges from “Community-based” to “Issue-based.” The main features of the former include the following: (a) the membership is concentrated around a certain local geographic area, which is relatively small and limited, for example, a neighborhood or a school district, and so on; (b) the organization engages in a wide range of services to the people who live in that district; and (c) the organization usually has a relatively close connection with local government and cooperates with local officials with the aim of community development. Issue-based organizations also have three main characteristics: (a) the membership comes from a larger geographical area, for instance, from a city, a nation, or even the whole world; (b) the organization engages in a relatively specific set of activities according to its particular mission; for example, Greenpeace would be unlikely to participate in a project that involved visits to an area’s elderly residents; and (c) the organization usually has a more distant, contract-based relationship with local or national governments (pp. 27-31).
4.
4. There are no formal official documents about voluntary service organizations (VSOs) in Jinan. The authors triangulated their methods and collected documents from the 34 VSOs in the city, 6 of which were selected for the study sample.
5.
5. The Spiritual Civilization Office is a government institution that aims to improve the socialist spirit of civilization and the beliefs of the Chinese characteristics of socialism and Marxism.
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Article first published online: July 15, 2009
Issue published: April 2011
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