 Omar G. Encarnación, Civil Society Reconsidered For much of the past two decades, students of democracy have operated under the spell of civil society. A new and extensive body of literature, however, suggests the limits of this evocative concept in explaining the making and maintenance of democratic regimes. Despite its recent popularity, civil society remains mired in conceptual confusion regarding what the term is meant to represent. More important, the theoretical agenda underpinning the civil society revival lacks much of a foundation in real-life politics. A central problem is the tendency to treat civil society¡¯s effects on politics in isolation from the political context. |