civil society

is at one and the same time a social value and a set of social institutions.

First, civil society allows us to combine theory with empiricism because, as Hall points out, it is 'at one and the same time a social value and a set of social institutions' (Hall 1995:2). This is the distinction which Pearce makes between 'the normative discourses on 'civil society'' on the one hand, and on the other hand 'the empirically researchable 'civil society'' (1996:141). This is why civil society is so useful: it can be used both as a tool for analysing political change by situating it within a definite historical period and specific social context, and as an important normative concept for political critique. It is possible, though not uncomplicated, to combine an awareness of the normative dimensions implicit within the concept of civil society itself with an empirical analysis of a specific civil society within a given social and historical context. (p. 102)

J.A. HallThinkers

J.A. Hall