Beyond Civil Society

"This innovative collection provides needed theory, methods, and case studies to explain the new and multiple ways that political participation combining civic and 'uncivil' forms can result in progressive, democratic reform in Latin America. By highlighting the tensions between how spaces of civic participation can suck the energy out of social movements and how unruly social movements with 'uncivil' participants can push neoliberal governments to become more inclusive, this collection takes a giant step forward in political theorizing. Beyond Civil Society offers a fresh look at present and future political strategies and forms of participation." - Lynn Stephen, author of We Are the Face of Oaxaca: Testimony and Social Movements

"A much-needed intellectual contribution to the discussion around civil society, the state, and social mobilization in Latin America, this collection illuminates the stakes in thinking about state-society relations at a time when citizenship is guaranteed to all but only accessible by some. This will become a classic." - Wendy Wolford, author of This Land Is Ours Now: Social Mobilization and the Meanings of Land in Brazil

"The writers in this edited volume make an important contribution to the study of political dynamics in Latin America. . . . This book is particularly relevant at this time, when an increasing array of groups (including blacks, women, indigenous groups, and LGBT groups) are participating in civic and uncivic actions. Recommended." - S. L. Rozman, Choice

“Beyond Civil Society is of its time, a moment to revisit and rethink the significance of transformative politics in the changed circumstances of the Latin American region.” - Maxine Molyneux, Journal of Latin American Studies

"The individual case studies of Beyond Civil Society include rich detail that will be of interest to activists and scholars of social movements alike, and the book’s discussion of the Civil Society Agenda and its consequences is an important contribution to scholarship on Latin America, democracy, and collective action." - EIAL

"The authors of this important edited collection interrogate what they call the 'civil society agenda.' . . .  Beyond Civil Society thus offers a sober analysis of the effectiveness and degree of political autonomy of movements working with Pink Tide governments or international organizations." - Dolores Trevizo, Mobilization

“[A] fascinating anthology of participation and protest in Latin America…. Beyond Civil Society is a very welcome contribution to the often-unintegrated debates about civil society, on the one hand, and social movements, on the other.” - Anna Krausova, Latin American Research Review