ABSTRACT
Talking of civil society means to invoke the hope that non-governmental organizations (NGOs), social movements and third sector agencies make this world more humane and fair as they open up spaces for emancipation and freedom. Civil society is increasingly used as synonymous for democratic participation in order to correct the effects of neo-liberal economic globalizations and, at the same time, of overly intrusive state apparatuses. As such it has gained enormous importance in the programmes and speeches of international democratization efforts. In the context of Chinese politics, the emergence of civil society is seen as a sign of progress towards an assumingly more democratic system. Yet, before even the question can be asked who in China can or would be considered a civil society actor, the concept of civil society itself needs some closer scrutiny. This will be done in this chapter. The question to be answered is that of the very nature of civil society: how is it constituted, how does it relate to the other two sectors/spheres of the state and the market and what are the politics that are produced in it? Only if these questions are solved, the nature of the emerging associational sector in China can be analysed. Does the emerging associational sector in China foster the critical spirit and contentious potential that is normatively associated with the concept of civil society?
