The Civil Sphere

A Concise Introduction

Peter Kivisto (Augustana College), Giuseppe Sciortino (University of Trento)

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English

Polity Press
05 December 2025

Social theory; Political structure & processes

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to Jeffrey C. Alexander’s Civil Sphere Theory (CST). It reconstructs the development and key features of this theory and explains why it offers an original and compelling way of thinking about civil society.

The book reveals the ways in which the various components of CST come together to offer an illuminating framework for making sense of the complexities, ambiguities, and tensions inherent in modern democratic societies located in highly differentiated and pluralistic societies. It compares CST to civil society theories from the past and present, along with the idea of the societal community and Habermas’s theory of the public sphere.

Among the topics addressed are the relationship between CST and Alexander’s approach to cultural sociology, the binary character of cultural codes, normative philosophy, the role of social movements in effecting civil repair, and the idea of multiculturalism as a new mode of incorporation that makes possible a politics of recognition. The book assesses the main criticisms of CST and concludes by showing how CST has proven to be an ongoing, evolving project that has generated a wide range of empirical research and stimulated further theoretical refinement and development.

By: Peter Kivisto (Augustana College), Giuseppe Sciortino (University of Trento)
Imprint: Polity Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
ISBN: 9781509560561
ISBN 10: 1509560564
Pages: 136
Publication Date: 05 December 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Peter Kivisto is the Richard Swanson Professor of Social Thought Emeritus at Augustana College. Giuseppe Sciortino is Professor of Sociology at the University of Trento, Italy.