Civil Society

History and Possibilities

Sunil Khilnani editor Sudipta Kaviraj editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:6th Sep '01

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Civil Society cover

Discussions of the concept of 'civil society', including its use inside and outside the West.

Fifteen scholars clarify the concept of 'civil society', considering its use in different historical contexts. The volume first analyses the meaning of civil society in Western theoretical traditions, and then considers the theoretical and practical contexts in which it has been invoked in Asia, Africa and Latin America.Civil society is one of the most used - and abused - concepts in current political thinking. In this important collection of essays, the concept is subjected to rigorous analysis by an international team of contributors, all of whom seek to encourage the historical and comparative understanding of political thought. The volume is divided into two parts: the first section analyses the meaning of civil society in different theoretical traditions of Western philosophy. In the second section, contributors consider the theoretical and practical contexts in which the notion of civil society has been invoked in Asia, Africa and Latin America. These essays demonstrate how an influential Western idea like civil society is itself altered and innovatively modified by the specific contexts of intellectual and practical life in the societies of the South.

'… this collection is unusually coherent in plan and consistent in quality. The editors have assembled an excellent group of authors.' The Times Higher Education Supplement
'The book is notable also in bringing together a highly distinguished array of contributors.' Contemporary Political Theory

ISBN: 9780521633444

Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 24mm

Weight: 680g

344 pages