Introduction

Research on social capital and networks of trust expanded rapidly after the late 1980s and now comprises a broad and heterogeneous field of scholarship that spans most social science disciplines, from anthropology to political science, from sociology to human geography (see Coleman 1988; Fukuyama 1995; Nahapiet and Goshal 1998; Portes 1998; Mohan and Mohan 2002; Holt 2008). One of the most influential exponents of the notions of social capital and trust has been Robert Putnam, whose research on civic traditions in Italy and the United States rapidly became the pacesetter in the field (Putnam 1993; 2000). Importantly, Putnam’s influence has not been limited to the promotion of social capital as an analytical concept; social capital has also become a key policy tool. This policy interest has not been confined to Italy, the US and other Western industrialized countries since, with the support of the World Bank and other international organizations, the idea of social capital as a remedy to various social ills has also been adopted in a large number of developing countries (see Woolcock and Narayan 2000; World Bank 1997).