In the last two decades, civil society has re-emerged as a popular notion amongst academics and politicians alike. John A. Hall and Frank Trentmann provide the first critical selection of texts on the evolution of civil society as a seminal and hotly debated idea from the seventeenth century to the present. Combining European texts with global debates about civil society, including texts about Islam, China, and human rights, this critical edition is essential reading for students and academics in history, sociology, politics, and international relations as well as social activists interested in civil society today.