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Civil Society

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Trials of Europeanization

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Abstract

Definitions of civil society have historically varied,1 the main point of contention being whether civil society can only be defined in a liberal democratic framework.2 Most scholars accept the essentially liberal character of the term. Hall defines civil society as “the self-organization of strong and autonomous groups that balance the state.”3 Civil society is perceived as the counterweight that effectively checks the state. According to Diamond, civil society is “the realm of organized social life that is voluntary, self-generating, (largely) self-supporting, autonomous from the state, and bound by a legal order or a set of shared values.”4

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Notes

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  1. Ioannis N. Grigoriadis
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© 2009 Ioannis N. Grigoriadis

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Grigoriadis, I.N. (2009). Civil Society. In: Trials of Europeanization. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230618053_3

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