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 democracies 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 it has proven to be an ongoing, evolving project that has generated a wide range of empirical research and stimulated further theoretical refinement and development.

"Accessible and expert, The Civil Sphere introduces an essential perspective on modern democratic life. Kivisto and Sciortino explain Civil Sphere Theory's elements, backgruond, competitors, criqitues, and developments. Their important contribution helps everyone who wants to understand the fraught dynamics of democracy."
Lyn Spillman, University of Notre Dame

"Jeffrey C. Alexander, one of the most important social theorists of our time, has profoundly recast our understanding of civil society, democracy, and solidarity. Now his ambitious and groundbreaking theory of the civil sphere has the lucid, comprehensive introduction it deserves. Kivisto and Sciortino's masterful guide illuminates Alexander's work in relation to the history of ideas, contemporary debates, and ongoing political struggles."
Chad Alan Goldberg, University of Wisconsin-Madison

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.