Civil Society – Theory, History, Comparison

The prime task of this volume is accordingly better to define what is meant by 'civil society', not least so that the extent of its usefulness, descriptively rather than merely prescriptively, can be established. To that end, analysis is comparative and historical quite as much as theoretical. Particular attention is paid to the relations between civil society and other social forces, most notably to nationalism and to populism. The distinguished contributors include Ernest Gellner, David Wank, Victor Perez-Diaz, Adam Seligman, Chris Bryant, Salvador Giner, Hudson Meadwell, Philip Oxhorn, Chris Hann, Serif Mardin, Wlodimierz Wesolowski and Nicos Mouzelis.