Geneza şi evoluţia societăţii civile: aspecte teoretico – istorice

Abstract

Civil society is one of the most debated concepts in all of the social sciences that touch on political life. The term goes back to Aristotle's phrase koinōnía politike, occurring in his Politics, where it refers to a ‘community’, commensurate with the Greek city-state (polis) characterized by a shared set of norms and ethos, in which free citizens on an equal footing lived under the rule of law. The literature on relations between civil society and democratic political society have their roots in early classical liberal writings like those of Alexis de Tocqueville. However they were developed in significant ways by 20th century theorists like Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba, who identified the role of political culture in a democratic order as vital. There is growing agreement that civil society, civic culture, and social capital are all important for strengthening democracy and enabling conflict resolution.