Among the issues being extensively debated throughout the world today are the relevance of the nation-state, the role of civil society in good governance, and the relationship between social movements and social policy. Professor Oommen analyses these issues and simultaneously contests several of the prevailing conceptualisations, both Indian and Western, while invoking South Asian/Indian empirical reality to interrogate, modify and reformulate western theory. Following an over-arching Introduction, the three interrelated themes are discussed in separate sections, each containing four chapters.