Essay on Civil Society and Social Capital Concepts in Northern Russia

In recent years, after the collapse of USSR and after the new wave of democratization that occurred almost all around the globe, there have been a lot of discussions about democracy consolidation in these newly-formed democratic states and much importance had been given to the concept of civil society and social capital.
Many theorists and practitioners stress that a well developed civil society and accumulated social capital are the most essential parts of consolidated democratic states. However, we cannot look at these concepts so simplistically, and further explanation is needed, because even in academic circles we cannot identify a consensus in defining these concepts. Jonathan Murphy is a scholar in Judge Institute of management studies, in University of Cambridge. For the Havinghurst Young Scholars conference, which took place November 7-9, 2003, he presented a research paper about “civil society and social capital in post-socialist Russian north.” (Particularly in Yakutsk and Evenkiya districts). In his research he analysis the concept of civil society in Russia, trying to apply two distinct definitions of civil society and social capital.…