Breakdowns in civil societies can be catalyzed by factors ranging from war and genocide to natural disaster, disease and economic downturns. Restoring Civil Societies examines social processes related to civic engagement in the wake of these societal ruptures. The authors show how crises in civil society can be both pervasive and localized, broad-based and limited to defined social sub-groups. Whatever their scale, Restoring Civil Societies identifies models that analyze the social psychology of crises in order to devise ways of re-activating civic engagement and safeguarding civil society. Focusing on these positive interventions, the authors identify a number of key strategies, ranging from the simplicity and directness of bystander interventions to the volunteer armies mobilized in the wake of natural disasters. They include collective action organized to redress systemic inequalities, and the vital healing role played by truth commissions in Rwanda and elsewhere. Restoring Civil Societies fills the gap between basic research on social issues and translation into social policies and programs-an area which, in light of current economic and social unrest, is more important now than ever.

In societies like Bosnia or Rwanda, deep divisions along ethnic and religious lines and the legacy of years of atrocities and violence pose serious challenges to liberal forms of consensus. People do not recognise themselves asmembers of a political community, and identity politics is pursued at the expense of liberal democratic projects and reconciliation programmes. This book explores the nature and role of civil society in deeply divided societies. Civil society is presented here as the spherewhere a shared 'culture of civility' emerges. The 'culture of civility' enables individuals to become part of a community of citizens and accept to reciprocate on the basis of some basic universal values, such as the protection of human dignity. The last chapter on Bosnia shows that relevance of civil society crucially depends on its capacity to represent the sphere where individuals are able to recognize and deal with transitional issues by appealing to the Bosnian 'culture of civility' and developing a sense of justice based on a shared understanding of the idea of human dignity.

Noted scholar and activist Don Eberly details the history, achievements, and goals of the civil society movement. He demonstrates why civil society is crucial to the preservation of democratic values and institutions, and he explains why the concern over America's moral decay must be our major priority. Our society, argues Eberly, cannot thrive, and perhaps cannot survive, without strong social institutions, a vibrant moral order, and an active, intellectual grass roots dimension.

We want our country back. A nefarious ideological movement called "progressivism" has seized control of American culture, rejected American morality, deconstructed American language, and debased American law. What we're fighting is neither a political battle nor a culture war. It's a moral struggle with cultural and political dimensions. The chasm dividing America from progressivism is stark: -America is colorblind; progressivism is racist.-America embraces new Americans; progressivism holds all Americans in contempt.-The American God has Judeo-Christian roots; progressivism worships pure ego.-America is philosemitic; progressivism is deeply antisemitic.-America is proud of its Christian heritage; progressivism distrusts all who have taken Christ into their lives.-America welcomes Muslims who share the American dream; progressivism promotes Islamism.-America is rational and scientific; progressivism is utopian and fantastic.-America embraces faith, community, and civil society; progressivism trusts only in government.-America worships freedom; progressivism promotes thought control.-America believes the best societies arise through interactions among free people making free choices; progressivism relies upon enlightened elite opinion to dictate the rules of society.-America touts its freedom of religion; progressivism grudgingly tolerates freedom of worship.-Israel is American; the EU is progressive.-America is good; progressivism is evil.And those are just selected headlines.What can we do about it? We have only two choices: We can let go of America or we can defeat progressivism. Restorationism is a movement committed to the fight. American Restoration maps out a battle plan for American restorationism. Its discussions drive toward one or more of the four points critical to restoring America-or, to coopt a memorable phrase, to Make America Great Again! Remember Who We Are: We Are Americans!Know the Enemy: The ideology known as Progressivism seeks to undermine our morality-and our sanity.Recognize the Weapons Deployed Against Us: Deconstruction, Fabrication, and Projection-or lies, lies, lies.Master the Arsenal of Defense & Counterattack: Definition, Examination, and Reflection-call them out on their lies.That's it. That's the grand strategy. Deploy it, and we win. We reclaim our great American nation. We restore our shining city on a hill. Continue as we've been going, and all bets are off.Read here to learn how to win this Second American Civil War.

Around the world politicians and intellectuals seek to restore civil society by cultivating stronger public ethics and social institutions. This text presents classic writings of leading scholars and organizers who have brought the civil society debate to the forefront.

Sets forth and examines the challenge of restoring health to society and its democratic institutions.