ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the sources of citizens' satisfaction with the performance of their local governments. It outlines the social capital and institutional approaches to democratic performance. The chapter describes the way scholars have traditionally approached the question of institutional differences across German local governments. It presents an empirical analysis of the social capital and institutional theses. Focusing on citizens' satisfaction with the performance of their local governments, the chapter embeds both of these arguments within a broader model intended to explain variation in performance levels. It focuses on two research traditions, the cultural and the institutional, which have endeavored to illuminate the sources of governmental performance. In Robert Putnam's view, the effectiveness of democratic regimes critically depends on the social environment within which they exist. This 'exogenous' theory of democratic performance, variously called 'republican' or 'civic republicanism', makes the major claim that the 'civic virtue' of citizens strongly shapes the performance potential of democratic government.
