Keane offers a conception of civil society more nuanced and more attractive than leading contenders. But Keane’s conception also leaves certain questions for reexamination. Keane says little about what role his vision of civil society allows for governments. Many may struggle to share Keane’s optimism about the role of digital technology in helping to realize this vision. And one might also question how well the attitude of political hope that Keane urges ultimately serves us.

Few authors feature the rare quality of threading their academic prose with clarity, attractiveness, and sophistication. John Keane is one of those authors. The Australian intellectual has produced one of the most innovative works of recent decades in the field of applied political theory, which simultaneously exceeds the dreams of some essayists with philosophical pretensions and the aridity of the majority of writers on comparative politics.