Bringing together historians and political scientists, this unique collaboration compares nineteenth-century civil societies that failed to develop lasting democracies with civil societies that succeeded.

Chapter 1 Introduction Part 2 Part I:Preludes to Failed Democracies Chapter 3 On Liberalism and the Emergence of Civil Society in Portugal Chapter 4 The Dream of Civil Society in Tsarist Russia: Law, State, and Religion Chapter 5 Public Opinion and Associations in Nineteenth-Century Italy Chapter 6 Liberalism and Civil Society in Italy: From Hegemony to Mediation Chapter 7 Civil Society and the Middle Classes in Nineteenth-Century Germany Part 8 PART II: Preludes to Durable Democracies Chapter 9 Civil Society, Subscriber Democracies, and Parliamentary Government in Great Britain Chapter 10 Political Association in Nineteenth-Century France: Legislation and Practice Chapter 11 Liberalization, Democratization, and the Origins of a Pillarized Civil Society in Nineteenth-Century Belgium and the Netherlands Part 12 PART III: The Meaning of the Nineteenth Century Today Chapter 13 The Role of Society and Non-Civic Associations in the Democratization of Poland, 1945-1996 Chapter 14 The Historical Origins of the East-West Divide: Civil Society, Political Society, and Democracy in Europe Chapter 15 Civil Society after Democracy: Some Conclusions