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3 - Cohesion

from Part II - Scale Effects

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 May 2020

John Gerring
Affiliation:
University of Texas, Austin
Wouter Veenendaal
Affiliation:
Universiteit Leiden
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Summary

Chapter 3 discusses the relation between scale and cohesion, defined here as the togetherness of a community, or the sense in which members identify and behave as a coherent, unitary group. We regard cohesion as a first-order sociological effect of scale with repercussions for political outcomes. Features associated with cohesion include homogeneity, trust, dense networks, strong norms, and the more general concept of social capital. Since we cannot explore all these facets in a single chapter, we focus on three elements of cohesion with presumed relevance to politics: heterogeneity, connectedness, and deviance. We review existing studies on the relation between scale and these three indicators of cohesion, and we regress various measures of ethnic and/or linguistic diversity on population. The results show a strong relationship between scale and heterogeneity and connectedness, while the effects of size on (perceptions of) deviance are somewhat less clear. While size seems to enhance deviant behavior, we argue that deviance is a matter of perception, with existing studies pointing to a positive relationship between perceptions of crime and the size of a community.

Type
Chapter
Information
Population and Politics
The Impact of Scale
, pp. 65 - 82
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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  • Cohesion
  • John Gerring, University of Texas, Austin, Wouter Veenendaal, Universiteit Leiden
  • Book: Population and Politics
  • Online publication: 14 May 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108657099.004
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  • Cohesion
  • John Gerring, University of Texas, Austin, Wouter Veenendaal, Universiteit Leiden
  • Book: Population and Politics
  • Online publication: 14 May 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108657099.004
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Cohesion
  • John Gerring, University of Texas, Austin, Wouter Veenendaal, Universiteit Leiden
  • Book: Population and Politics
  • Online publication: 14 May 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108657099.004
Available formats
×