Synopsis

This title brings together competing theories of civil society with critical studies of the role of civil society in diverse situations and the way in which it has been promoted as the key to democratization. The combination of contemporary theory and practical applications provides valuable reading for students of civil society and contemporary social and political change, and its policy implications for Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.

1. Civil Society, Democratization and Development: Clearing the analytical ground
2.Bowling in the Bronx: The uncivil interstices between civil and political society
3. The Taming of the Idea of Civil Society
4. Civil Society: Market economy and democratic polity
5. Civil Society, the Market and Democracy in Latin America
6. Civil Society, the State and Democracy in Africa
7. The 'Civil' and the 'Political' in Civil Society: The case of India
8. Die Lehrjahre sind vorbei!: Reforming democratic interest groups in the East German Lander
9. Civil Society and Transnational Non-Governmental Organizations in the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership
10. Democratization in Bosnia: The limits of civil society building strategies
11. Building Civil Societies in East Central Europe: The effects of American NGOs on women's groups