''Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy'' () is a 1993 book written by Robert D. Putnam (with Robert Leonardi and Raffaella Y. Nanetti). Published by

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial ...

, the book's central thesis is that

social capital Social capital is a concept used in sociology and economics to define networks of relationships which are productive towards advancing the goals of individuals and groups. It involves the effective functioning of social groups through interper ...

is key to high institutional performance and the maintenance of

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

Summary

The authors studied the performance of the twenty regional Italian governments since 1970, which were similar institutions but differed in their social, economic and cultural context. They found that regional government performed best, holding other factors constant, where there were strong traditions of civic engagement. The book has been cited thousands of times by other academics.

Northern-Central Italy and Southern Italy

The work, also, evaluates the differences between Northern- Central Italy and

Southern Italy Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...

. Around 1000 A.D. Northern Italy and Central Italy had a more active

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere. created order in the area. The governing structure was much more vertical: the peasants were controlled by the knights and the knights were controlled by the kings. Northern and Central Italy created a democratic-type system for their citizens. Conversely, Southern Italy created a feudal and autocratic system of governing. Putnam concludes that these long-standing differences still help to explain north–south differences in governance, many centuries later.

Author thesis

Putnam believes that for democracy to be successful there needs to be a level of mutual trust among the citizens and a more horizontal system of governing, all of which Northern and Central Italy has enjoyed. Putnam states in ''Making Democracy Work'' that civil society creates wealth, wealth does not create a civil society. The civic nature of Northern Italy and Central Italy dating back to medieval times has caused the region to be prosperous in modern times. Southern Italy, however, with its more feudal nature in medieval times has caused the region to be the origin of the Mafia and has created a less successful region. The Mafia's hierarchical structure is very similar to Southern Italy's feudal roots, according to Putnam. Putnam finds that the stark differences in medieval governing structures caused equally stark differences in the current political and economic atmosphere in both Southern and Northern-Central Italy.

Reception

* Winner of the 1994 Charles H. Levine Memorial Book Prize * Winner of the 1994 Gregory Luebbert Award * Winner of the 1993 Louis Brownlow Book Award, National Academy of Public Administration * Honorable Mention for the 1993 Award for Best Professional/Scholarly Book in Government and Political Science, Association of American Publishers

Editorial review

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

"''Harvard professor Putnam offers an in-depth examination of Italian politics and government."''

References

{{Reflist 1993 non-fiction books Books about democracy