The Return Of Civil Society The Emergence Of Democratic Spain [Paperback]

A humane, subtle, and splendidly informative study of recent Spanish history, with important observations about the critical role of civil society in the political triumphs and failures of other countries. A greatly rewarding and rare example of the complementarity of sociological and historical interpretations of political change.The Return of Civil Society...is a book that can only be described as magisterial. It moves easily and successfully along the boundaries of history, political science, and sociology, presenting a carefully crafted argument about the democratization of Spain while reflecting intelligently and provocatively on many other subjects.A decade from now, when scholars evaluate whether the debate over civil society revised our conventional assumptions, I am confident that P?rez-D?az's book will be mentioned as having moved us closer to our goal.P?rez-D?az examines the return of civil society in Spain, covering its transition from a preindustrial economy, authoritarian government, and Roman Catholic-dominated culture to a modern state based on the interaction of economic and class interests, on a market society, on voluntary associations, and on a culture of moral autonomy and rationality.