Is a Composite Indicator for Social Cohesion Possible? Durkheimian Theory and Empirical Evidence from a Belgian Survey

Recently, various attempts have been undertaken to develop a single comprehensive social cohesion indicator and to monitor progress toward achieving cohesive societies and communities. However, according to sociological theory, contemporary modern communitites should function according to a different type of social cohesion than traditional communities used to do. Both from a theoretical as from a methodological perspective, it can be questioned whether there is indeed one single concept of social cohesion. In this article, we develop indicators for the 308 local communities in Flanders, Belgium. We use an extensive dataset, including elements such as social exclusion, poverty, crime, religious involvement and associational life. A series of factor analyses demonstrates that all these indicators can be reduced to two distinct dimensions of social cohesion. The modern form of social cohesion is typically found in the urban centres, while the traditional form of social cohesion is found on the rural countryside.status: publishe