Zelizer in Azerbaijan: Social Solidarity in an Environment of Distrust

• In Event: 206 - Regular Session. Rational Choice

Abstract

Social capital theory predicts that social solidarity should be weak in an environment of low generalized trust and low interpersonal trust. Yet in northwest Azerbaijan, we encountered two unexpected sites of strong social solidarity outside of kin ties: yas mourning ceremonies, and almsgiving to social outcasts. Drawing on this empirical work, this conference paper makes two arguments. First, we demonstrate that Viviana Zelizer’s relational work theory provides a convincing framework for understanding our two anomalous cases. Second, we argue that social capital explanations of social solidarity may be usefully conceptualized as a narrower case of relational work. In our conclusion, we suggest how such a perspective may sensitize researchers to discover additional sources of social solidarity in environments of distrust.

Authors

• Dustin S. Stoltz, University of Notre Dame

• Aaron Z. Pitluck, Illinois State University