Social capital refers to connections among individuals ( social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them ) This volume brings together a group of contributors who examine the social capital thesis by means of four different approaches: theoretical, historical, comparative, and empirical. In the end, this book will serve to answer two fundamental questions which have hitherto been neglected: What can a gendered analysis tell us about social capital? And what can social capital tell us about women and politics?