Introduction

Civil society, like the concepts of democracy, liberalism and radicalism, is a ‘catch-all’ term. It is a phrase that has profound relevance to societies across the globe and that is part of the mainstream of political theory, social policy and the agendas of social movements. It has become a melting pot into which ideas, arguments and examples are poured ceaselessly. Yet this topicality is in danger of rendering the term meaningless.

There can be no doubt as to the complexity surrounding the concept, particularly given that it is used in so many different political, economic and social contexts. It requires us to engage with the fundamental building blocks of society: democracy, human rights, participation, social justice and communities. Hence we should not be surprised to find that it is a concept that has been, and continues to be, strongly debated.

In the context of the UK, the term civil society is used broadly to refer to two phenomena: evidence and anxiety about some of the weaknesses of the representative political system and recognition of the growing significance of associational life. Out of the first of these has emerged the language of new citizenship. This is the approach taken by the Power Inquiry (2006), which gives the findings of a wide-ranging investigation into Britain's democracy. In a chapter entitled ‘The rise of new citizens’, the inquiry's report draws attention to the vibrancy and innovation of forms of participation that contrast with the disengagement and alienation from formal democracy. Concerns about the health of traditional political processes, as well as clear evidence of disillusioned voters, have spawned a considerable literature and intense scrutiny of the topic by think tanks such as Demos and the Institute for Public Policy Research. Commenting on the European Parliament elections of June 2009, the European Policy Centre noted that the overall turnout of approximately 43 per cent of the 375 million eligible voters in Europe represented an historical low and displayed ‘the high degree of apathy and lack of interest already apparent throughout the electoral campaign across the 27 member states’ (www.epc.eu).

There can be little doubt that the issue of citizenship in contemporary politics is recognised as a priority by senior politicians, academics, think tanks and citizen organisations.