Socio-State Interactions: mutual constitution of civil society and the state sphere

Abstract

Since the 1990s, various efforts have been made to analyze interfaces between social organizations and the institutional sphere. The establishment of the field of “socio-state interactions” can be seen recently in Brazil. Although there is no unified approach in this field, its contributions have shed light on border approaches, advancing theoretical, methodological, and empirical analyses about the involvement of social movements in public policy. Seeking a relational approach to emphasize the mutual constitution of the societal and state spheres, I reviewed the concept of civil society in the Habermas’ tradition, to highlight three critical aspects: the denial of the political (depoliticization); optimism (a normative association between civil society and democracy); and relationism. The reflections reinforce the analytical limitations of the concept and highlight the importance of mutual constitution to the analysis of socio-state interactions