Broadly speaking, The Oxford Handbook of Civil Society views the topic of civil society through three prisms: as a part of society (voluntary associations), as a kind of society (marked out by certain social norms), and as a space for citizen action and engagement (the public square or sphere). It does not focus solely on the West (a failing of much of the literature to date), but looks at civil society in both the developed and developing worlds. Throughout, it merges theory, practice, and empirical research. In sum, the Handbook will be the definitive work on the topic.

Michael Edwards is currently Distinguished Senior Fellow at Demos in New York, Senior Visiting Scholar at the Robert F Wagner School of Public Service at New York University, and Senior Visiting Fellow at the Brooks World Poverty Institute at Manchester University in the UK. He is also the former Senior Advisor to World Bank on Civil Society and the former Director of the Ford Foundation's Governance and Civil Society Program.

Part 1. Introduction
1. Introduction, Michael Edwards
2. The History of Civil Society Ideas, John Ehrenberg
Part 2. The Forms of Civil Society
3. The Non-Profit Sector, Steven R. Smith
4. Development NGOs, Alan Fowler
5. Grassroots Associations, Frances Kunreuther
6. Social Movements, Donatella Della Porta and Mario Diani
7. Social Enterprise and Social Entrepreneurs, Alex Nicholls
8. Global Civil Society, Lisa Jordan
Part 3. Geographical Perspectives
9. Civil Society in the United States, Theda Skocpol
10. Civil Society in Latin America, Evelina Dagnino
11. Civil Society in Post-Communist Europe, Marc Morjé Howard
12. Civil Society in the Middle East, Eberhard Kienle
13. Civil Society in China, Jude Howell
14. Civil Society in India, Neera Chandhoke
15. Civil Society in Sub-Saharan Africa, Ebenezer Obadare
Part 4. The Norms of Civil Society
16. Civil Society and Social Capital, Michael Woolcock
17. Civil and Uncivil Society, Clifford Bob
18. Civil Society and Civility, Nina Eliasoph
19. Civil Society and Equality, Sally Kohn
20. Civil Society and Diversity, Hilde Coffé and Catherine Bolzendahl
21. Civil Society and Religion, Donald E. Miller
22. Civil Society and Spirituality, Claudia Horwitz
Part 5. The Spaces of Civil Society
23. Civil Society and Government, Nancy L. Rosenblum and Charles H.T. Lesch
24. Civil Society and Civil Liberties, Mark Sidel
25. Civil Society and the Public Sphere, Craig Calhoun
26. Civil Society and Public Work, Harry C. Boyte
27. Civil Society in the Digital Age, Roberta G. Lentz
28. Civil Society and Public Journalism, Charles Lewis
29. Civic Knowledge, Peter Levine
Part 6. The Achievements of Civil Society
30. Civil Society and Democracy, Mark E. Warren
31. Civil Society and Poverty, Solava Ibrahim and David Hulme
32. Civil Society and Peace, Jenny Pearce
33. Civil Society and Power, John Gaventa
34. Civil Society and the Market, Simon Zadek
Part 7. Supporting Civil Society
35. Civil Society and Institutional Philanthropy, William A. Schambra and Krista L. Shaffer
36. Civil Society and Grassroots Philanthropy, G. Albert Ruesga
37. Assisting Civil Society and Promoting Democracy, Omar G. Encarnación
38. Conclusion, Michael Edwards