Epdf and ePUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. Drawing on place-based field investigations and new empirical analysis, this original book investigates civil society at local levels. The concept of civil society is contested and multifaceted, and this text offers clarification and assessment of debates concerning the intertwining of civil society, the state and local community relations. Analysing two Welsh villages, the authors examine the importance of identity, connection with place and social and spatial boundaries for citizen's participation in civil society activities. Bringing into focus questions of temporality, this book provides an innovative account of the continuities and changes within local civil society during social and economic transformation.