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Article: CIVIL SOCIETY.
- Article from:
- Foreign Policy
- Article date:
- December 22, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 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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THINK AGAIN
Civil society has become one of the favorite buzzwords among the global chattering classes, touted by presidents and political scientists as the key to political, economic, and societal success. As with Internet stocks, however, civil society's worth as a concept has soared far beyond its demonstrated returns. To avoid a major disappointment in the future, would-be buyers should start by taking a closer look at the prospectus.
Thomas Carothers
The Concept of Civil Society Is a Recent Invention
Enlightenment needed. The term "civil society" can be traced through the works of Cicero and other Romans to the ancient Greek ...