This article explores the relationship between civil society and community resilience in coastal communities in Brazil, Canada, Chile and Cuba. In understanding the role of social capital in community development, we do not feel sufficient attention has been paid to the subtle microdynamics of civil network structure. Using social network analysis, we explore the link between community cohesion and resilience. Attention is given to conflicting interests that characterize these communities and how they manifest themselves in civic participation and factional affiliations. We find that organizational diversity is a necessary condition for community vitality, but organizations can become captive to factional interests. The critical factors for resilience are associated with a benign side of factions (a plurality of inclusive ties) and the presence of keystone bridging agents. Each offers hidden mechanisms for neutralizing the effects of fragmentation by providing a cohesive capability which remains latent until crises call for collective action.
Over 20 years after the implementation of irrigation schemes in the surrounding area of the Itaparica Reservoir, in the semi-arid region of Northeast Brazil, insufficient infrastructure and low market power still impact smallholders' incomes and development of market strategies to support rental increase from the smallholders. Lack of access to credit, high input costs, and low producer prices for major crops have helped to maintain the poverty status of smallholders that equally affects small agricultural producers like cattle breeders. Agricultural cooperatives have contributed to increase their members' market power in agricultural commerce and facilitate their access to credit and agricultural expansion. To analyze the historical context of this situation, as well as the potentials and constraints of agricultural cooperatives and associations, 24 qualitative expert interviews were conducted among members of cooperatives or associations and consultants involved with technical assistance to smallholders. During the study period, no active agricultural cooperatives could be identified. Financial problems related with lack of financial resources, inadequate government support, absence of leadership and poor organization, and missing solidarity and mistrust were considered the main reasons for the cooperatives' poor situation. However, the potential of these cooperatives are illustrated by the efficiency of the fishery and apiculture associations.
Resumo Os programas de desenvolvimento têm contemplado cada vez mais a participação das comunidades na sua gestão. As idéias de participação tão conhecidas e defendidas pelas ciências sociais começaram a fazer sentido, mesmo que, pelo viés utilitarista, com o aparecimento do que se entende hoje por capital social. o capital social seria uma riqueza oriunda das relações sociais, possibilitando certos objetivos que sem ele não seriam alcançados. Os projetos de combate à pobreza rural (PCPR) em Pernambuco partem da crença de que mecanismos que incluem maior participação da sociedade civil e maior descentralização nas decisões sobre alocação de recursos financeiros tendem a gerar melhores resultados para comunidades rurais pobres. O capital social seria o fator que potenc1al1zana este modelo de desenvolvimento empregado no PCPR. A metodologia de trabalho do PCPR se dá através de financiamentos de projetos, onde a elaboração, implantação e operação são acompanhadas pelas comunidades, representadas pelas associações. O que se busca· entender, neste trabalho, é em que medida o capital social presente nas comunidades influencia a qualidade das organizações políticas que as representa.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.