Educating Leaders for The Responsibilities of A Civil Society

Abstract

As the country moves into the new millennium, it is important to concentrate on the part of society that exists between people and beyond government--the civil society. Made highly visible by the changes in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, the civil society has been called the "connective tissue of a democratic political culture." These civic relationships make it possible for communities and societies to work, and work better, for everybody. This article calls for leadership research and education to focus on what is required in a civil society to prepare students for their public as well as their private responsibilities. These public responsibilities require that leadership be taught and practiced in new ways, using different skills.