A "civil society" anthology for experts and students alike.

In The Civil Society Reader Don Eberly presents the classic writings of the leading scholars and organizers who have brought the civil society debate to the forefront of American politics.

Around the world politicians and intellectuals seek to restore civil society by cultivating stronger public ethics and social institutions. This text presents classic writings of leading scholars and organizers who have brought the civil society debate to the forefront.

Since its publication in 2004, Civil Society has become a standard work of reference for all those who seek to understand the role of voluntary citizen action in the contemporary world. In this thoroughly-revised edition, Michael Edwards updates the arguments and evidence presented in the original and adds major new material on issues such as civil society in Africa and the Middle East, global civil society, information technology and new forms of citizen organizing. He explains how in the future the pressures of state encroachment, resurgent individualism, and old and familiar forces of nationalism and fundamentalism in new clothes will test and re-shape the practice of citizen action in both positive and negative ways. Civil Society will help readers of all persuasions to navigate these choppy waters with greater understanding, insight and success. Colleges and universities, foundations and NGOs, public policy-makers, journalists and commissions of inquiry – all have used Edwards’s book to understand and strengthen the vital role that civil society can play in deepening democracy, re-building community, and addressing poverty, inequality and injustice. This new edition will be required reading for anyone who is interested in creating a better world through citizen action.

This book seeks to make accessible a selection of the best pieces written on civil society and brings together theoretical and empirical material. The essays discuss the theory of civil society, civil society in South Asia in particular and ways of strengthening civil society.

Reinventing Civil Society criticises the hard-boiled economic rationalism of the Thatcher years. Thatcherite emphasis on the 'vigorous virtues' of self-sufficiency, energy, and adventurousness was necessary to halt Britain's economic decline, but there was a missing ingredient: the 'civic virtues' of solidarity, service to others, duty and self-sacrifice.