Relocating Civil Society: Theories and Practices of Civil Society between Late Medieval and Modern Society

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maarten F. Van Dijck ◽  
Bert De Munck ◽  
Nicholas Terpstra
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Culture ◽  
Voluntary Associations ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Associational Life ◽  
The Public ◽  
Civic Virtues ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Church

Civil society is widely considered as a crucial element in contemporary society. Academics and policy makers have traditionally associated it with voluntary associations and organizations, assuming that associational life is an ideal intermediary between citizens and government. While members of associations form large social networks, which they can mobilize at critical moments, the conviviality of group sociability fosters the development of a set of common values, such as a democratic political culture and other civic virtues. Its origins are generally situated in the eighteenth century, and are mostly attributed to secularization, Enlightenment thinking, the birth of the “public sphere,” and growing emancipation from oppressive structures such as the church and the state.

scholarly journals Civilsamfund eller social kapital?

2006 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 61-75
Author(s):  
Lars Hulgård
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Institutional Critique ◽  
Institutional Perspective ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Status ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
The Public Sphere

Lars Hulgård: Civil Society or Social Capital? An institutional critique of theories of civil society inspired by Habermas and Putnam. There have been two main approaches to theory about the relations between civil society and democracy and the welfare state. One is the approach by Habermas that emphasizes the role of the public sphere as mediator between civil society and representative democracy. The other is an approach inspired by Putnam that emphasizes the importance of social capital. Putnam focuses on how civil involvement and voluntary associations raise the effectiveness of institutions in modern society. Both approaches have met with considerable criticism from different points of view. However the article argues that a similar criticism can be made of both approaches although they seem so different. It argues that the crucial challenge is to include an institutional perspective in whichever perspective one employs in the study the status of civil society as a democratic or welfare impulse in modern society. The article reviews the various criticisms of the two approaches and shows how an institutional perspective can be employed to both approaches.

Political Liberalism, Deliberative Democracy, and the Public Sphere

1998 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan Charney
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
John Rawls ◽  
Public Reason ◽  
Political Liberalism ◽  
Associational Life ◽  
The Public ◽  
Liberal Conception ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Domain I

Theorists of democracy emphasize the importance of a public sphere, distinct from the apparatus of the state, where citizens can freely associate, deliberate, and engage in collective will formation. Discourse ethicists and deliberative democrats locate the public sphere within civil society and the manifold associations that comprise it. For Seyla Benhabib, the public sphere is constituted by the anonymous “public conversation” of civil society. By contrast, John Rawls has a much more limited conception of the public sphere. For Rawls, public reason, which establishes norms for democratic discourse, applies to a limited domain. I defend Rawls's view against the charge that it depends upon an untenable distinction between the public and nonpublic spheres. I argue that Rawls's more limited “liberal” conception better guarantees the heterogeneity of associational life in civil society. I then argue that Rawls violates his own principles by partially collapsing the public-nonpublic distinction with potentially illiberal consequences.

Sex in the City that Peter Built: The Demimonde and Sociability in Mid-Eighteenth Century St. Petersburg

Slavic Review ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 907-930
Author(s):  
Igor Fedyukin
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Reading Public ◽  
Associational Life ◽  
The Public ◽  
The World ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The City

This article uses the materials of the Drezdensha affair, a large-scale investigation of “indecency” in St. Petersburg in 1750, to explore unofficial sociability among the Imperial elite, and to map out the institutional, social, and economic dimensions of the post-Petrine “sexual underworld.” Sociability and, ultimately, the public sphere in eighteenth century Russia are usually associated with loftier practices, with joining the ranks of the reading public, reflecting on the public good, and generally, becoming more civil and polite. Yet, it is the privately-run, commercially-oriented, and sexually-charged “parties” at the focus of this article that arguably served as a “training ground” for developing the habits of sociability. The world of these “parties” provides a missing link between the debauchery and carousing of Peter I's era and the more polite formats of associational life in the late eighteenth century, as well as the historical context for reflections on morality, sexual licentiousness, foppery, and the excesses of “westernization.”

scholarly journals Contested Numbers: Census Controversies and the Press in 1960s Nigeria

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Gerardo Serra ◽  
Morten Jerven
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Political Culture ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
The State ◽  
Population Census ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Press ◽  
Distribution Of Resources ◽  
The Public Sphere

Abstract This article reconstructs the controversies following the release of the figures from Nigeria's 1963 population census. As the basis for the allocation of seats in the federal parliament and for the distribution of resources, the census is a valuable entry point into postcolonial Nigeria's political culture. After presenting an overview of how the Africanist literature has conceptualized the politics of population counting, the article analyses the role of the press in constructing the meaning and implications of the 1963 count. In contrast with the literature's emphasis on identification, categorization, and enumeration, our focus is on how the census results informed a broader range of visual and textual narratives. It is argued that analysing the multiple ways in which demographic sources shape debates about trust, identity, and the state in the public sphere results in a richer understanding of the politics of counting people and narrows the gap between demographic and cultural history.

scholarly journals Role of Spiritual Intelligence in Public Policy in the African American Pentecostal Church

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-161
Author(s):  
James B. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
African American ◽  
Spiritual Intelligence ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Government ◽  
Community Issues ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Policy Engagement ◽  
The Church

Abstract Although many U.S. faith-based organizations have become partners with the government, the African American Pentecostal Church (aapc), which holds spirituality as a means of serving humanity as its theological framework, has remained a silent partner in public policy engagement. With the framework of spiritual intelligence, this qualitative case study addresses the perceptions of African American Pentecostal leaders regarding how the church’s theology may have an impact on the public policy engagement of its parishioners. Twelve African American Pentecostal Bishops were interviewed, and data were coded and analyzed to identify themes. Results revealed that participants use their spirituality to connect with public policy issues that relate to their personal experiences. Findings also indicated that the aapc is not an organized denomination, but rather a conglomeration of factions. Lack of an organized epicenter and lack of training and development of its leaders prevent this church from engaging in the public sphere. Although members embrace their responsibility to care for the needs of others, the church lacks a collective response to community issues. Findings may be used to prepare the next generation of aapc leaders to unify the church to offer spiritual solutions to public policy issues.

scholarly journals The Problem of Fundamentalism in Foreign Orthodoxy: the Review

2019 ◽  
pp. 23-35
Author(s):  
Anna M. Yakovleva ◽  
◽  
Alexey V. Volobuev ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
21St Century ◽  
The Public ◽  
Mass Consciousness ◽  
Conservative Beliefs ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Given ◽  
Modern Era ◽  
The Church

. The review deals with the problem of Orthodox fundamentalism in the discussion of Englishspeaking authors of different denominations, representatives of canonical and non-canonical Orthodox churches, which took place in theological discussions, in journalism and at scientific conferences mainly in recent years. The main materials are first introduced into the scientific circulation in Russian. The concepts of fundamentalism in Orthodoxy in the foreign press are presented; the definitions of Orthodox fundamentalism, the main theses of opponents and their argumentation are given. Frequently, the word “fundamentalism” in relation to Orthodoxy is used as a banal nickname for those opponents who have traditional or conservative beliefs, are prone to “ritualism”, shows intolerance and lack of readiness for dialogue, including ecumenical. However, since the beginning of the 21st century, theologians, priests and scholars have been trying to give a stricter definition of such fundamentalism as a phenomenon of the modern era, especially in its demise. It is primarily about the attitude to the works of the holy fathers of the Church. It is expressed, in particular, the opinion that the veneration of patristic writings, along with the resolutions of the Councils (which constitutes the Holy Tradition) should be revised. However, the concept of “Orthodox fundamentalism”, as follows from the given review, has not yet been formed. But one can speak of such signs of it, connected, in particular, with a wide exit to the public sphere of mass consciousness, as the striving to minimize theological provisions, absolutization of some provisions of dogma to the detriment of others, and the logos (modern) reading of the myth.

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