The Oxford Handbook of Civil Society

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Civil Society written by Michael Edwards and published by OUP USA. This book was released on 2011-08-29 with total page 533 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Broadly speaking, The Oxford Handbook of Civil Society views the topic of civil society through three prisms: as a part of society (voluntary associations), as a kind of society (marked out by certain social norms), and as a space for citizen action and engagement (the public square or sphere). It does not focus solely on the West (a failing of much of the literature to date), but looks at civil society in both the developed and developing worlds. Throughout, it merges theory, practice, and empirical research. In sum, the Handbook will be the definitive work on the topic.