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Shades of Social Capital: Elite Persistence and the Everyday Politics of Community Forestry in Southeastern Mexico

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  • Peter R Wilshusen

    (Environmental Studies Program, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA 17837, USA)

Abstract

Social capital has been discussed widely as networks based in trust and reciprocity that can facilitate economic development, democratic governance, and sustainable natural-resource management. The concept has not been examined thoroughly as an analytical lens for understanding power relations. Drawing on Bourdieu's theory of practice I develop a relational and contextual view of social capital in order to explore the everyday political exchanges tied to a long-standing community forestry association in Quintana Roo, Mexico. I present a case study that recounts the emergence and decline of a timber-marketing fund to illustrate how elite actors from member communities ( ejidos ) maintain relative dominance within social networks over time. This Bourdieusian perspective on elite persistence exemplifies the downside of social capital but also reveals a cultural view of everyday politics that highlights tensions among long-standing practices (habitus) and formal and informal spheres of social interaction (fields).

Suggested Citation

  • Peter R Wilshusen, 2009. "Shades of Social Capital: Elite Persistence and the Everyday Politics of Community Forestry in Southeastern Mexico," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 41(2), pages 389-406, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:41:y:2009:i:2:p:389-406
    DOI: 10.1068/a40132
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dan Klooster, 2000. "Community Forestry and Tree Theft in Mexico: Resistance or Complicity in Conservation?," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 31(1), pages 281-305, January.
    2. Maxine Molyneux, 2002. "Gender and the Silences of Social Capital: Lessons from Latin America," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 33(2), pages 167-188, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. García-López, Gustavo A., 2019. "Rethinking elite persistence in neoliberalism: Foresters and techno-bureaucratic logics in Mexico’s community forestry," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 169-181.
    2. Naidu, Sirisha C., 2011. "Access to benefits from forest commons in the Western Himalayas," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 202-210.
    3. Siegelman, Ben & Haenn, Nora & Basurto, Xavier, 2019. "“Lies build trust”: Social capital, masculinity, and community-based resource management in a Mexican fishery," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 1-1.
    4. Kashwan, Prakash & MacLean, Lauren M. & García-López, Gustavo A., 2019. "Rethinking power and institutions in the shadows of neoliberalism," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 133-146.
    5. Górriz-Mifsud, Elena & Secco, Laura & Pisani, Elena, 2016. "Exploring the interlinkages between governance and social capital: A dynamic model for forestry," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 25-36.

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