The Structure of Civil Society: Does Trust Matter in Korea, Japan, and China?

• In Event: 3181 - Section on Asia and Asian America Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 04. Government and Civil Society

Abstract

This paper explores the structures of civil societies in Korea, Japan, and China by analyzing East Asian social survey data (2012). The social network analysis method was employed to paint a full picture of associational membership networks of which construct the civil society of each country. We also investigate the relationship between three types of social trust—particularized trust, generalized trust, and trust in institution—and individuals’ patterns of participation in voluntary associations by applying multivariate, binomial logistic, and multinomial logistic regressions. The results are as follows: In Korea, alumni association had the greatest degree centrality, followed by recreational association, indicating that Korean people’s associational membership networks were largely structured through nepotism as well as their hobbies. For Korean people, particularized trust was an important determinant for patterns of their network structures. In Japan, associational membership networks were formed mainly by neighborhood and recreational association. Japanese were more likely to depend on their regional society, and general trust was the factor that affect people’s level of involvement in the networks. In China, labor union and political association were the two major types of voluntary association that most people involved. A dominant factor that affected their participation was their household income. Among the social trust variables, trust in institution was an important determinant in China. Based on the findings, we conclude that the shapes of the civil societies in East Asian countries are determined by citizens’ trust as well as their reactions to intervention to the central government. Implications and contributions are discussed.

Authors

• Seokho Kim, Seoul National University

• Jaeun Lim, Cornell University