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International Sociology
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Debating Civil Society

On the Fear for Civic Decline and Hope for the Internet Alternative

Peter Ester

Tilburg University, p.ester{at}uvt.nl

Henk Vinken

Tilburg University, h.vinken{at}uvt.nl

At the start of the third millennium social scientists’ preoccupation with the weakening of Gemeinschaft is - particularly in western postmodern societies - again at its peak. Waning social capital is believed to have undermined community, as reflected in widespread feelings of social mistrust, in citizens turning away from prime institutions and political authorities, and even engaging less in informal interactions. This diagnosis of civil society as advanced by especially American scholars would be a very serious account of our present times, if the debate and research in this field were not impaired by a set of equally serious theoretical and methodological problems. This article addresses a number of these basic problems. The main issue is the lack of sensitivity in civil society studies to new, alternative and innovative forms of solidarity, connectedness and civic and political engagement, particularly those facilitated by the Internet. It is time to thoroughly define today’s forms of civil society made by contemporary people with contemporary means, in a contemporary world. This article aims to reframe the civil society research agenda.

Key Words: civic decline • civil society • generations • the Internet • political engagement

International Sociology, Vol. 18, No. 4, 659-680 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/0268580903184002
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