Civil Society: History and Possibilities

by Sudipta Kaviraj (Editor), Sunil Khilnani (Editor)

Civil Society is one of the most used--and abused--concepts in current political thinking. Fifteen leading scholars clarify the theoretical meanings of the concept as well as consider the different historical contexts in which it has been used outside the West. The volume is divided into two the first section analyzes the meaning of civil society in different theoretical traditions of Western philosophy. In the second section, contributors consider the theoretical and practical contexts in which this idea has been invoked in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Paperback

First published September 6, 2001

About the author

Sudipta Kaviraj is a scholar of South Asian Politics and Intellectual History, often associated with Postcolonial and Subaltern Studies. He is currently teaching at Columbia University in the department of Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies.