Civil Society. Michael Edwards

      1  Dedication

      2  Title page

      3  Copyright page

      4  Preface Notes

      5  Acknowledgments

      6  1 Introduction – What’s the Big Idea? Civil society: a very brief history of an idea The rise and fall of civil society Notes

      7  2 Civil Society as Associational Life Is there an “associational revolution” at work in the world today? Who is “in” and who is “out”? Organizations and ecosystems Associational life in cross-cultural perspective Associational life in the Middle East Associational life in Africa Notes

      8  3 Civil Society as the Good Society Associational life and the good society States, markets, and societies that are civil Civil society and the market Civil society and the state Notes

      9  4 Civil Society as the Public Sphere Why is the public sphere important? Threats to the public sphere What causes polarization among the public? Do social media make things worse? Conclusion Notes

      10  5 Synthesis – How Do the Different Models of Civil Society Fit Together? Associational life, the public sphere, and the good society The civic culture school The comparative associational school The school of skeptics Global civil society Conclusion: is any generalization possible? Notes

      11  6 Action – So What’s to be Done? Building the preconditions for a true civil society Pressure points: supporting systemic, non-directive interventions Conclusion Notes

      12  References

      13  Index

      14  End User License Agreement

      1  Cover

      2  Contents

      3  1 Introduction – What’s the Big Idea?

      1  ii

      2  iii

      3  iv

      4  vi

      5  vii

      6  viii

      7  ix

      8  x

      9  xi

      10  xii

      11  xiii

      12  xiv

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