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Making Sense of Global Civil Society

Jens Bartelson

University of Copenhagen, Denmark

This article purports to explain why the concept of global civil society recently has attracted so much interest within academic and political discourse. Given the ambiguity and apparent incoherence of this concept, its centrality within contemporary International Relations and political theory is puzzling. The article argues that once we pay attention to the function of the concept of domestic civil society within different historical contexts, we are better able to understand the logic governing the usage of global civil society as well. Much like its domestic antecedents, theories of global civil society provide answers to the question of how to govern effectively, in this case by constituting the global realm as a sphere of governmental activity, as well as by justifying the exercise of authority within this emergent sphere. The article concludes by discussing the ethical implications of the concept of global civil society, disputing its emancipatory potential.

Key Words: authority • global civil society • globalization • governmentality • legitimacy

European Journal of International Relations, Vol. 12, No. 3, 371-395 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1354066106067348
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