Civil Society In British History: Ideas, Identities, Institutions Hardcover

Jose Harris

This book explores the many different strands in the language of civil society from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries. Through a series of case-studies it investigates the applicability of the term to a wide range of historical settings. These include 'state interference', voluntary associations, economic decision-making, social and economic planning, the 'bourgeois public sphere', civil society in wartime, the 'inclusion' and 'exclusion' of women, and relations between the state, the voluntary sector, and individual citizens. The contributors suggest that the sharp distinction between civil society and the state, common in much continental thought, was of only limited application in a British context. They show how past understandings of the term were often very different from (even in some respects the exact opposite of) those held today, arguing that it makes more sense to understand civil society as a phenomenon that varies between differenc cultures and periods, rather than a universally applicable set of principles and procedures.

9780199260201

English

Oxford University Press, USA

29 Jan 2004

332

Jose Harris

...required reading...The question of how the individual engages with the state...remains a fertile one, enriched here by a mix of periods, cultures, and approaches. This pluralism is an enlightened, active example of 'civil society', and we are indebted to the voluntary association of the contributors. English Historical Review Two cheers, then, for an interesting collection of studies that demonstrates the range and fascination involved in the study of civil society. * Michael Bentley, The English Historical Review *