ABSTRACT
Exploring the origins and the evolution of the concept ‘civil society’ is an essential first step to understand some of the assumptions that underpin, define and also motivate actors to invoke the (in appearance) widely accepted positive role of civil society. To do so, one needs to be wary of the normative expectations linked to the development of a concept that has its roots in modern western liberal history. Therefore, it is important to go back to the roots of the concept of civil society before discussing some of its problems when facing its application in contemporary settings. A second reason for this multiple historical and theoretical review is the increasingly transnational context in which civil society is invoked. Civil society is not only an object of scientific enquiry, but also the motivation of a large ‘aid industry’ (Van Rooy 1998). Therefore, one needs to put the concept under scrutiny not just for its historical evolution but also in terms of consequences these studies can have on the more concrete application of civil society promotion around the globe (Benthall 2000).
