Civil Society

The notion of “civil society” has had a long history in Western political thought, but it has been revived in modern discourse because it is seen to be the panacea for many problems in contemporary society, such as the growth of individualism, anomie, and the fragmentation of society. In the past, the idea of civil society was seen to be a key aspect of any successful nation-state with a democratic polity, but in contemporary debates, the idea has been extended to analyze the possible development of transnational communities and the emergence of a world civil society. Having been once the preferred solution for the problems of the nation-state, civil society is now promoted as the answer to the extensive and negative issues facing the global ...