Read more
The past two decades have witnessed a revival of the concept of 'civil society'. From East Central Europe to Latin America and East Asia to the recent calls for a 'European civil society' and a 'global civil society', the concept signifies the need for national and supra-national forms of civic commitment against both unjustified state domination and neo-liberal marketization. Reviewing the long history of the concept, its use in various regional contexts and its place in critical political theory, this book takes comprehensive stock of these debates and asks about the potential of the concept of civil society in guiding political transformations towards fuller understandings of liberty and democracy.
List of contents
Introduction Peter Wagner PART I: BEGINNINGS Chapter 1. Civil Society and the Problématique of Political Modernity
Jean Terrier and
Peter Wagner Chapter 2. From koinonìa politikè to societas civilis: Birth, Disappearance and First Renaissance of the Concept
Peter Hallberg and
Björn Wittrock PART II: NARROWING Chapter 3. The Nationalisation and Popularisation of Political Language: the Concept of 'Civil Society' in Swedish
Peter Hallberg Chapter 4. Declining Deliberation: Civil Society, Community, Organised Modernity
Jean Terrier and
Peter Wagner Chapter 5. The Withering Away of 'Civil Society' and the Organization of Social Life: the Case of Germany from the Wilhelminian era to the G.D.R.
Jay Rowell and
Bénédicte Zimmermann PART III: WIDENING Chapter 6. The Second Renaissance of Civil Society in East and Central Europe - and in the European Union
Jody Jensen and
Ferenc Miszlivetz Chapter 7. Pluralized Globalisation: Civil Society in East Asia and Latin America
Shin Jong-Hwa and
Peter Wagner Chapter 8. Global Civil Society: from Dissident Democratisation to World Bank Parlance
Jody Jensen and
Ferenc Miszlivetz Chapter 9. The Critique of Organised Modernity
Jean Terrier and
Peter Wagner PART IV: CONCLUDING Chapter 10. The Return of Civil Society and the Reopening of the Political Problématique
Jean Terrier and
Peter Wagner Bibliography
Index
About the author
Peter Wagner is Professor of Social and Political Theory at the European University Institute, Florence, and Professor of Sociology at the University of Warwick. His publications in social and political philosophy and historical and political sociology include A Sociology of Modernity (1994), Theorizing Modernity (2001), A History and Theory of the Social Sciences (2001), and The Political Constitution of Modern Capitalism (co–editor, forthcoming 2005).
Summary
The past two decades have witnessed a revival of the concept of ‘civil society’. From East Central Europe to Latin America and East Asia to the recent calls for a ‘European civil society’ and a ‘global civil society’, the concept signifies the need for national and supra–national forms of civic commitment against both unjustified state domination and neo–liberal marketization. Reviewing the long history of the concept, its use in various regional contexts and its place in critical political theory, this book takes comprehensive stock of these debates and asks about the potential of the concept of civil society in guiding political transformations towards fuller understandings of liberty and democracy.
Additional text
"Overall, this is an insightful book, which will be of relevance to academics and students in the fields of political theory, philosophy and history. Besides a fine example of historical and theoretical analysis, those interested in civil society debates will find in this volume a wide range of arguments for reflection."�����In-Spire Book Reviews
