Download or read book The Reemergence Of Civil Society In Eastern Europe And The Soviet Union written by Zbigniew Rau and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-06-26 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The turmoil that shook Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and challenged traditional centers of power in the Soviet Union has touched off an intense debate about the forces behind the recent collapse of Soviet-type systems. Civil society, a key concept in the debate, is the focus of this thought-provoking volume, which contrasts the views of Eastern scholars and activists in independent movements against those of Western academics. The authors' various perspectives on the struggle between the people and their governments highlight different facets of civil society, providing new insights into its definition, origin, and function within a nation's public life.