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civil society
is
a concept that goes deep below the mechanisms of government into the
culture and traditions of society at a more private or group level.
it gained immense popularity in the 1980s and 1990s as an important
conceptual tool to an understanding of relations between the modern
state and modern society, especially those undergoing
transformation.
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according to
gellner, 揷ivil society is that set of diverse nongovernmental
institutions, which is strong enough to counterbalance the state
and, whilst not preventing the state from fulfilling its role of
keeper of the peace and arbitrator between major interests, can
nevertheless prevent the state from dominating and atomizing
society.?
cohen and
arato offer a more detailed definition of civil society as 揳 sphere
of social interaction between the economy and state, composed above
all of the intimate sphere (especially the family), the sphere of
associations (especially voluntary associations), social movements,
and forms of public communication. modern civil society is created
through self-constitution and self-mobilization. it is
institutionalized and generalized through laws. in the long run both
independent action and institutionalization are necessary for the
reproduction of civil society.?
a civil
society is one in which interest groups can assert themselves and
can make the state respect their rights. an environment conducive to
the reawakening of civil society was first created by the public
debate of gorbachev抯 glasnost era. the introduction of
glasnost led to the broadening struggle of the independent
movement against the administrative system.
civil society
soon revealed many aspects and represented many independent
groupings and interests, including the nascent entrepreneurial
class, freedom of expression, religious freedom, and a multitude of
other forces that were suppressed after october 1917. in the more
liberal atmosphere of glasnost these diverse interests
revived, signaling a growing autonomy of society from party-state
structures.
