University of Tehran Journal of Range and Watershed Managment 5044-2008 75 3 2022 11 22 Analyzing the Dynamics of Social Capital in Development and Empowerment of Local Communities in Arid Areas; Application of Social Network Analysis Analyzing the Dynamics of Social Capital in Development and Empowerment of Local Communities in Arid Areas; Application of Social Network Analysis 333 345 90352 10.22059/jrwm.2022.351397.1685 FA Elham Akbari Faculty of Humanities , Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran. Leila Avazpour Postdoc Researcher, Social Business Institute, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran Journal Article 2022 08 31 In the last two decades, the concept of social capital has been emphasized through its connection with the basic social components, including awareness, participation, trust, cohesion and social network, in the direction of the sustainable development of societies, especially local societies; Therefore, to achieve sustainable local development, having social capital is essential. Considering the importance of this issue and relying on numerous problems and deficiencies at the level of villages in dry areas, this article analyzes the dynamics of social capital in the establishment of local sustainable development in the dry area of southern Kerman based on the method of social network analysis in two periods before and after. It has implemented the community-oriented project of empowering local communities in three villages of Gaubnan, Chahan and Chah Nasir of Qalaganj city. First, by completing the questionnaire and direct interview with the local stakeholders (the heads of the rural microcredit fund), the required data was collected. Then, outgroup social capital was investigated based on trust and participation links using quantitative and mathematical indicators of the macro level of the network (density index and E-I). The results show the increase of density index and improvement of out-group relations in the stage after the implementation of the project and strengthening the amount of out-gro, to realize rich outgroup social capital in this society, because the social dimension of development It is not possible to be sustainable without taking into account the social capital and the participation of that area. In the last two decades, the concept of social capital has been emphasized through its connection with the basic social components, including awareness, participation, trust, cohesion and social network, in the direction of the sustainable development of societies, especially local societies; Therefore, to achieve sustainable local development, having social capital is essential. Considering the importance of this issue and relying on numerous problems and deficiencies at the level of villages in dry areas, this article analyzes the dynamics of social capital in the establishment of local sustainable development in the dry area of southern Kerman based on the method of social network analysis in two periods before and after. It has implemented the community-oriented project of empowering local communities in three villages of Gaubnan, Chahan and Chah Nasir of Qalaganj city. First, by completing the questionnaire and direct interview with the local stakeholders (the heads of the rural microcredit fund), the required data was collected. Then, outgroup social capital was investigated based on trust and participation links using quantitative and mathematical indicators of the macro level of the network (density index and E-I). The results show the increase of density index and improvement of out-group relations in the stage after the implementation of the project and strengthening the amount of out-gro, to realize rich outgroup social capital in this society, because the social dimension of development It is not possible to be sustainable without taking into account the social capital and the participation of that area. https://jrwm.ut.ac.ir/article_90352_82503bfbfa79650f09db6e295c30b3e9.pdf