Whither Civil Society: Conflicts and Adjustments

Abstract

The concept of civil society has gained much prominence in the development debate of the 1990s. There is controversy over what to include in it: whether, for instance, market- based institutions or, Indeed, every non-state organization would qualify to be the part of the concept's definitional set. There is also the question of how to categorize civic institutions, such as: state regulated religious bodies, academic unions, and public sector interest groups whose members are state employees and, therefore, may be subject to public rules and regulations. Critics have also debated the issue of whether civil society should be treated separately from political society.