Thinker
Robert Putnam
Robert Putnam is central to 11 previous-year questions, spanning 2010 to 2025 across Paper I. Everything below is drawn from the official papers — the questions themselves, the concepts they test, and where they sit in the syllabus.
11Questions
2010–25Years tested
IPaper
4Syllabus topics
Concepts asked alongside Robert Putnam
What the examiner actually wants you to know when this name appears.
social capital 9civil society 8public sphere 6associational life 2citizenship 2participatory democracy 2accountabilityaccountability and participationbonding and bridging capitalcapability approachchronic povertycivic culturecollective agencycommunity participationdecentralisationdemocratic accountabilitydirect participationelite capture
Where Robert Putnam appears in the syllabus
Every question on Robert Putnam
Each links to a full breakdown — how to approach it, a model answer, and the examiner’s perspective.
2025
2013
2011
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