Civil Society as an Agent of Democratization? A Political Theory Perspective

  • Marcos Engelken-Jorge Universidad del País Vasco – Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea
Keywords: civil society, democratic deepening, political reform, contemporary democratic theory.

Abstract

The notion of „civil society‟ re-emerged in the 1980s, and it has been subjected to debate by political theorists since then. In this article, this concept is assessed from the point of view of its usefulness for explaining and, in particular, promoting processes of democratic deepening. The classical meanings of civil society, as well as ongoing debates on this notion, are reviewed. It is argued that a broad notion of civil society, such as the one advanced by Pérez-Díaz, is preferable to other more common alternatives, since (i) it avoids adopting a socio-centric approach, which is useless for designing and promoting strategies of social and political reform; and (ii) it dispenses with more restricted meanings of civil society, on which few general conclusions can be obtained.

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How to Cite
Engelken-Jorge M. (2011). Civil Society as an Agent of Democratization? A Political Theory Perspective. Nómadas. Critical Journal of Social and Juridical Science, 32(4), 313-330. https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_NOMA.2011.v32.n4.38082
Section
Researches