In the context of contemporary democracies, the decline of traditional forms of association requires a new understanding of the social mechanisms that generate trust and cooperation. This contribution presents a research program that investigates the role of intermediate processes (IPs) - defined as collective actions that combine identity motivations with supra-individual public normative goals - as catalysts of social capital. The central hypothesis is that IPs promote social capital by generating "semiotic capital," that is, shared and high-dimensional systems of meaning (operationalized in terms of symbolic universes) that facilitate social coordination.
The research program consists of a number of complementary studies: (1) a territorial study analyzing the association between IPs, symbolic universes, and proxies of social capital in Italian regions; (2) a survey of a representative Italian sample measuring individual exposure to IPs, semiotic capital, and cooperative attitudes; (3) a simulation study that integrates an IP parameter to predict levels of cooperation; and (4) an experimental study using the prisoner dilemma, testing whether the introduction of a negotiated IP compared to a simulated norm increases cooperation in subsequent rounds.
The results demonstrate that active participation in IPs enhances the dimensionality of meaning, promotes cooperative behavior, and strengthens the semiotic space essential for social cohesion. This research seeks to provide an empirically grounded model of how new forms of collective action can effectively connect individuals, institutions, and the public good.