Social capital, theory and participatory practices in the local governments

The phenomenon of social capital, reflecting relationships among individuals in a society, is in field of interest of various disciplines such as public administration, economy and sociology. In this study, theory and participatory practices relevant to social capital is examined within the scope of concepts of governance and participation by the point of view of public administration. The phenomenon of governance based on public, private and civil cooperation emphasizes ?collective management?, ?partnerships in solutions? and ?active participation?. The local governments which are the first step of democracy are considered as the fundamental basis of public participation in process of governance. To increase public participation in local level, the states have speedily made legal arrangements for establishing participatory mechanisms. In Turkey too, the law regulates that specialized commissions in provincial councils of special provincial administrations, metropolitan municipality councils and municipality councils and city councils in municipalities to be stipulated for participatory mechanisms.In this study, the role of the city council and the formation of specialized committees within local governments is questioned in the basis of the formation of social capital and its continuity. 340 people were surveyed to conduct the research. The survey was aimed to members of the Provincial Council of Izmir Special Provincial Administration, Izmir metropolitan municipality, Buca and Konak municipality councils and members of Izmir City Council, Buca City Council and Konak City Council in municipalities and the local community in İzmir. According to the result of this study, it is observed that the members of specialized commissions have higher social capital level than the members of city council and the local community. The main reason of the result is that the members of specialized commissions have high level of knowledge due to their memberships and are in active participation. Whereas, voluntary participation of local community in specialized commissions and city councils is not enough. New strategies should be developed in order to increase the level of participation.Key Words: Social Capital, Participation, Local Government, Specialized Commission, City Council.