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Exploring Civil Society ‘If ideas about civil society are to survive the confusion that threatens to submerge them, we need more books like this—critical, rigorous and respectful of different voices and traditions. Exploring Civil Society makes a timely and valuable contribution to the debate.’ Michael Edwards, Director, Governance and Civil Society, Ford Foundation, and author of Civil Society. The concept of civil society, which has its origins in early modern West European thought, was reinvented in Eastern Europe and Latin America in the 1980s and has subsequently travelled across the globe. This book is about whether and how the concept of civil society can be translated in different cultural contexts, and the impact of using the concept on the politics of different regions. Comparing and contrasting civil society in Latin America and Eastern Europe, Western Europe and the United States, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, the contributors show that there are multiple interpretations of the concept that depend more on the particular political configuration in different parts of the world than on cultural predilections. Specific issues discussed include: • Is the civil society idea simply part of a neoimperialist project of imposing Western hegemony or is it about the radicalization of democracy and the redistribution of political power? • Does the Western bias towards thinking of civil society as secular, and formally organized, prevent the recognition of local forms of civil society? • Is it beneficial, finally, to be thinking of a ‘global’ civil society as a normative concept that embraces notions of non-violence, solidarity and active world citizenship? Exploring Civil Society is a book for everyone interested in the concept of civil society and its implications. Marlies Glasius is Lecturer at the Centre for Civil Society, London School of Economics and a Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Global Governance. David Lewis is Reader in Social Policy at the London School of Economics. Hakan Seckinelgin is Lecturer in International Social Policy, the Department of Social Policy, London School of Economics. Exploring Civil Society Political and cultural contexts Edited by Marlies Glasius, David Lewis and Hakan Seckinelgin LONDON AND NEW YORK First published 2004 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to http://www.ebookstore.tandf.co.uk/.” © 2004 Marlies Glasius, David Lewis and Hakan Seckinelgin for selection and editorial matter; individual contributors for their chapters All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Exploring civil society: political and cultural contexts/edited by Marlies Glasius, David Lewis and Hakan Seckinelgin. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Civil society. I. Glasius, Marlies. II. Lewis, David, 1960 June 2– III. Seckinelgin, Hakan, 1969– JC337.E97 2004 300–dc22 2004001293 ISBN 0-203-35829-5 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-67096-5 (Adobe e-Reader Format) ISBN 0-415-32545-5 (hbk) ISBN 0-415-32546-3 (pbk) Contents List of contributors ix