"Cohen and Arato provide a wonderfully illuminating and detailed account of the civil society argument as it has developed in Europe. And then they turn that argument into a critical theory of American society or, more generally, of liberal democracy -- pointing the way toward a more effectively and pervasively democratic liberalism." -- Michael Walzer In this major contribution to contemporary political theory, Jean Cohen and Andrew Arato argue that the concept of civil society articulates a contested terrain in the West that could become a primary locus for the expansion of democracy and rights.