Coesione sociale: definizioni e metodologie di misurazione a confronto

Social Cohesion: a Comparison between Different Definitions and Methodologies - Many and different documents of the European Union and the Council of Europe declare that social cohesion represents a fundamental element for the individual quality of life. Some authors consider social cohesion identical to solidarity and trust, while others associate it to the concepts of inclusion and social capital. A minor stream proposes a link between social cohesion and social integration. Other sociologists define Social Cohesion as the result of different relationships characterized by trust, sense of belonging and a strong predisposition to cooperate. The Council of Europe considers social cohesion as the ability to ensure the long term well-being of all its members, minimizing the inequalities and guaranteeing a balanced access to the resources and, at the same time, as the ability to support the respect for human dignity, in particular personal and collective autonomy, diversity and responsible participation. The aim of this article is to provide a critical analysis of the ways in which social cohesion is operationalised in the most relevant researches available in the international panorama. In particular it focuses on the different logics of elaborating the indicators of social cohesion, in order to provide an evaluation of their validity. Keywords: social cohesion; multicultural society; realism; quality of life; solidarity well being.

Annapaola Camozzi, Coesione sociale: definizioni e metodologie di misurazione a confronto in "SOCIOLOGIA E POLITICHE SOCIALI" 2/2008, pp 35-53, DOI: