"The wave of civil uprisings that has swept the Middle East and North Africa has placed fostering civil society participation high on the agenda of national governments and international organizations. Despite widespread appeals to civil society engagement, however, the term “civil society” is deeply ambiguous: behind it lie conflicting normative values and commitments. This renewed commitment to civil society participation in democratic governance makes it all the more pressing to understand these different normative conceptions of civil society and the often-conflicting prescriptions that flow from them." (Quoted from paper)