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Civil Society, Realized: Equipping the Mass Public to Express Choice and Negotiate Power

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  • Hahrie Han
  • Jae Yeon Kim

Abstract

We examine the ways in which change in civil society has contributed to the erosion of democracy in the United States. Democracy demands that people commit to pluralistic self-determination, which means that people must be willing to seek power and also share it. We argue that civil society plays two important roles in sustaining people’s willingness to do both: first, civil society cultivates a capacity for expressing choice; and second, it teaches capacities and provides opportunities for people to negotiate power. We show that in recent decades, civil society’s emphasis has moved more toward expressing choice and away from the creation of venues for negotiating power. We conclude with recommendations for researchers, civil society leaders, funders, and policy-makers who are interested in committing to forms of civil society that take power seriously.

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  • Hahrie Han & Jae Yeon Kim, 2022. "Civil Society, Realized: Equipping the Mass Public to Express Choice and Negotiate Power," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 699(1), pages 175-185, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:699:y:2022:i:1:p:175-185
    DOI: 10.1177/00027162221077471
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    Cited by:

    1. Suzanne Mettler & Trevor Brown, 2022. "The Growing Rural-Urban Political Divide and Democratic Vulnerability," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 699(1), pages 130-142, January.
    2. Cas Mudde, 2022. "The Far-Right Threat in the United States: A European Perspective," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 699(1), pages 101-115, January.
    3. Megan Ming Francis, 2022. "Can Black Lives Matter within U.S. Democracy?," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 699(1), pages 186-199, January.

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