The book is a contribution to the ongoing discussion and research on civil society in the context of normative democratic theory and democratization in East-Central Europe. It offers a novel approach to some of the key issues in that debate including corruption and democratic consolidation, active citizenship, civic unity and the rule of law.

Dorota Pietrzyk-Reeves is Associate Professor of political philosophy at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. She held numerous research and visiting positions including Nuffield College, Oxford and the Central European University. Her research interests include democratic theory and democratization, classical republican tradition, and political education.

Contents: Civil Society as a normative concept – Anti-communist opposition and civil society – Post-communist democratization – Normative democratic theories: concepts and questions – Deliberative democracy and the model of citizenship – Public sphere – Corruption and democratization – Civic Participation and Democratic Consolidation – Civic unity and the rule of law.