Brazilian Partnerships Between State and Civil Society From the Perspective of Social Capital

The diffusion of partnerships between State and non-profit organizations brings into focus important questions relating to the interaction between State and civil society. This study aims at proposing reflections about the implications of those partnerships in the countries that have adopted such models, as well as the specific consequences that can emerge in the Brazilian context. In this way, this study discusses, through a social capital and civil society theoretical framework, which possible consequences and limitations might exist within the relationships built within such partnerships, particularly focusing on the Brazilian context following the administrative reform of 1995. For this purpose, we rely on Ostrom's (2003) perspective on social capital, as well as the Civil Society definition proposed by Cohen and Arato (1992). The reflection on these partnerships and their implications allows for new questions and hypotheses, which, considering the practically absent literature on these effects, represents alternatives for future empiric studies.