Changing Images of Civil Society : From Protest to Governance

This text examines the concept of civil society, the role attributed to civil society in different countries, at different times and historic situations, the reasons for its surfacing and its multiple forms in political discourse. Civil society has become one of the key parts of the reference framework for governance, seeking to replace traditional public action in which representative democracy is combined with bureaucratic implementation. The success of the civil society myth contrasts with and consequently manifests itself in the problems of political and social legitimacy and representation. This book assesses the shift in the meaning and application of civil society, from citizen protests to its incorporation into public action. It examines the diversity of interpretations and uses of civil society in different political contexts and seeks to understand the reasons for its surfacing and its multiple forms in political discourse. The authors critically analyze and compare how different types of regimes in countries such as Italy, France and the UK, Poland and Czechoslovakia, South Africa, China, India and Chile; have incorporated or otherwise responded to the new discourse. Analyzing the surfacing and uses of civil society, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of political science, analysts, policymakers, non-profit think tanks and organizations interested in comparative international studies on the third sector. Book Cover Title Copyright Contents Illustrations Contributors Preface Part I: Civil society and politics: Contending frameworks and democratic deficits 1 Contending civil-society frameworks: Beyond the tutelary model 2 Framing civil society: Lessons from Eastern Europe 3 A democracy bereft of parties: Anti-political uses of civil society in Italy 4 A social democratic model of civil society? 5 Civil-society debates in India: Civil society against political society? 6 China: Creating civil-society structures top-down? Part II: Civil society and public policies: Dilemmas and ambiguities 7 Incantations and uses of civil society by the European Commission 8 State, civil society and public policy in Chile today 9 Activating civil society: Differentiated citizen involvement in France and the United Kingdom 10 Civil society and participatory governance in South Africa: The quest for socioeconomic equity in the post-apartheid era Part III: Civil society and governance: Theoretical appraisals 11 Assessing the claims of ‘post-parliamentary’ governance: Few certainties, much more open questions 12 It’s about participation, stupid: Is it? – civil-society concepts in comparative perspective Index