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Article: Civil society in the Arab world: historical traces, contemporary vestiges.
- Article from:
- Arab Studies Quarterly (ASQ)
- Article date:
- January 1, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Association of Arab-American University Graduates. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Is civil society possible in the Arab world? The sociologist, Max Weber, thought not. Writing in the late Nineteenth Century, he maintained that the norms of Arab culture were incompatible with the rational demands of capitalism and democracy. Both are considered pre-requisites of civil society. This essay examines the argument in terms of theoretical formulations on civil society and Weber's position. The historical record of Arab civilization is reviewed to argue that the emergence of civil society is neither unique to Western culture nor is Arab culture inherently incompatible with the rational demands of civil society.
CIVIL SOCIETY: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES
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