The Civil Sphere in East Asia
The Civil Sphere in East Asia
David A. Palmer , The University of Hong Kong
Sunwoong Park , Korea National University of Education
Agnes Shuk-mei Ku , Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
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Leading sociologists who live and work in East Asia examine their region's most dangerous and explosive social problems, and some of their most stunning success stories, from the viewpoint of Civil Sphere Theory. This new and increasingly influential sociological understanding of democracy aims to describe and explain the moral codes and institutional foundations of democratic solidarity, as it manifests itself within a distinct social sphere. Part of a multi-volume project, this collection includes cases from Japan, mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea, bringing together efforts by sociologists based in East Asian academic institutions. Through an extraordinary blend of sophisticated social theory and path-breaking empirical research, The Civil Sphere in East Asia aims to advance civil sphere theory by globalizing and regionalizing it at the same time.
- Covers an incredible range of topics, from banking crises and Presidential impeachment in Korea, to police surveillance and scandals over fertility technology in Japan, to labor struggles in China, to memory wars throughout East Asia
- Utilizes diverse case studies across five different nations in East Asia
- Advances civil sphere theory, a new, ambitious, and exciting sociological theory of democratic possibilities
Reviews & endorsements
'At a time when civil spheres are being threatened both by internal forces and external opposition, Jeffrey C. Alexander's seminal work on Civil Sphere Theory gives a powerful sociological account of sources of fragility and resilience. With contributions from a superb team of scholars, this book demonstrates the breadth of Civil Sphere Theory.' Richard Madsden, University of California, San Diego
'Jeffrey C. Alexander, one of America's leading cultural theorists, has been wrestling with the broad intellectual issue of how social space shapes the moral codes of societies. He has set the ambition of looking at societies around the world. For this path-breaking volume, he has collaborated with scholars of East Asia to look at the various moral codes of mainland China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.' Ezra F. Vogel, Harvard University, Massachusetts
'The Civil Sphere in East Asia is an ambitious work that theorizes civil society using the East Asian experiences from a comparative perspective. It will be a must read for those who seek to understand East Asian society and politics.' Gi-Wook Shin, Stanford University, Connecticut
'Combining innovative case studies, comparative leverage, and theoretical strength, this landmark volume provides a new benchmark for comparative studies of political culture. Greater than the sum of its excellent parts, it demonstrates a robust development of civil sphere theory beyond the West and offers a new view of East Asian political cultures.' Lyn Spillman, University of Notre Dame, Indiana
Product details
February 2020Paperback
9781108448208
322 pages
228 × 149 × 20 mm
0.45kg
2 b/w illus. 5 tables
Available
Table of Contents
- Introduction. The civil sphere in the cultural and political transformations of modern East Asia David A. Palmer and Jeffrey C. Alexander
- 1. South Korea's presidential scandal and civil repair Jongryul Choi
- 2. System crisis and the civil sphere: media discourse on the crisis of education in South Korea Sunwoong Park
- 3. Boundary tension and reconstruction: credit information crises and the civil sphere in Korea Hee-Jeong Lee
- 4. Performing civil disobedience in Hong Kong Agnes Shuk-mei Ku
- 5. Fault line in the civil sphere: explaining new divisions in Hong Kong's opposition movement Andrew Junker and Cheris Chan
- 6. Three moral codes and microcivil spheres in China David A. Palmer
- 7. Attempting civil repair in China: SACOM's campaigns and the challenge to digital capitalism Pun Ngai and Kenneth Tsz Fung Ng
- 8. Fantasy is more believable: the shadow civil sphere in Chinese online fiction Xiaoli Tian
- 9. Institutions and civil instantiation: the case of modern Japanese police Mayumi Shimizu
- 10. What constitutes 'autonomy' in the Japanese civil sphere? The struggle over surrogacy Yoshie Yanagihara
- 11. Developing communicative institutions in local communities: the practice of participatory budgeting in Taiwan Kuo-ming Lin
- 12. Reconciliation through the transnational civil sphere? Historical dialogue and the tri-national joint history project in East Asia Horng-luen Wang
- Commentary. Opening up civil sphere theory: from the United States through Latin America to East Asia Carlo Tognato
- Conclusion. Theoretical issues in comparative perspective Peter Kivisto and Giuseppe Sciortino.
