Social capital of Kodzko County implications for the security of the region and its inhabitants

Abstract

For more than two decades, the social capital theory has attracted interest in the fields of sociology, political science and economics. Its various theoretical and empirical approaches invariably explain new and often hidden phenomena arising at the interface between institutional society and the economy. Its essence is trust built on relationships between people and between people and institutions that are the pillars for shaping security, in the broadest sense of the term, as well as the feeling of security among citizens. Social capital is also a scientific category requiring constant reconstruction and permanent attention in relation to changing social, cultural, political and economic realities. The primary (cognitive) aim of this article is to identify the characteristics of the social capital of Kodzko County, its peculiarities and implications for the security of the region and its citizens (not only in the social dimension).