Civil Society' has been a global catchphrase since the end of the Cold War, and is a hot topic among academics and politicians. Understanding the evolution of this concept in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is vital to its study and this concise and incisive introduction to the transnational history of civil society is essential reading for students and scholars alike.

One of the few histories of civil society that offers a truly transnational perspective
Adopts a multidisciplinary approach the text could be used by students of History, Politics or Sociology
Incorporates the latest scholarship and research

Autorentext
STEFAN-LUDWIG HOFFMANN is Assistant Professor in Modern History at the University of Bochum, Germany.

Inhalt

Editors' Preface.- Acknowledgements.- Maps.- Introduction: Democracy and Civil Society.- Sociable Societies: Enlightened Sociability from Boston to St. Petersburg.- Intimacy and Exclusion: Bourgeois Passions in the Early Nineteenth Century.- Nations of Joiners: Practicing Democracy in the Age of Nationalism.- Mass Culture, Mass Politics: Fin-de-siecle Crises.- Conclusion: Paradoxes of Civil Society.- Bibliography.- Index.