The growth of the building-block organizations of an autonomous civil society in an authoritarian environment depends on the “political construction” of social capital. Social capital can be coproduced by state and local societal actors or by the interaction of local societal actors and external actors in civil society. Social capital may also be produced from below, but external allies still t...

In a polarized political setting, public policy evolves in response to pressures on and from institutions. These institutions include broad social structures, formal organizations (such as regulatory agencies), and support systems (like civil service). This study uses water and sanitation policies in Bolivia to illustrate how institutional reform at all three levels lacked legitimacy in the eye...

There are competing conceptions of democracy. In particular, the terms “democracy” and “democratic” have been defined by political philosophers and political scientists in many different ways. Which one is right? How should one choose among the proposed definitions? A democracy is perhaps always a State, but the adjective “democratic” is often applied to other entities as well; for example, org...

Although virtual organizations and networks have been studied, there is still need for research regarding their inner dynamics and the mechanisms of leadership and governance. This paper investigates micropolitical processes i.e. informal actions of individual actors to gain power and exert influence, which is a well-researched concept in traditional organizations with respect to inter-organiza...

Since sociology is seeking mechanisms for explaining social phenomena, we discuss in this paper, whether and how the metaphor of a chemical reaction network can be employed as a formal mechanism to describe social and political systems. A reaction network is a quite general concept, which allows to model a variety of dynamical systems. Further more, a set of powerful tools can infer potential d...

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OBJECTIVES This study was conducted to assess political mapping in relation to road traffic injuries (RTIs) management and prevention to present a practical model for RTIs. DESIGN A phenomenological qualitative study was developed to identify stakeholders on RTI in Iran in 2008. SETTING The designed questions were discussed by systematic discussion with the relevant specialists. After recei...