Capitale sociale e cooperazione interistituzionale. Indicazioni di ricerca dal caso dell’e-governmen

The article explores the topic of interinstitutional cooperation in the policy area of e-government. Presenting some data from a 2001 survey of Italian municipalities, it shows differences among Italian regions in levels of interinstitutional cooperation. Why do such differences exist? The correlation between regional levels of interinstitutional cooperation and regional stocks of social capital (or "civism", as measured by Robert D. Putnam) suggests that social capital could be used to answer this question. The correlation is also the starting point to reflect on the controversial link between social capital and politics. The articles criticises those uses of the concept of social capital that ignore the role of politics and institutions and encourages development of the study of "deviant" cases (e.g. Basilicata, where, despite low levels of social capital, regional government fosters fruitful cooperative relations with municipalities) in order to better understand the role of political variables in their relation with the social context