This essay aims at taking reflection on the civil society. The author tries to prove the validity of the thesis that civil society is a precondition for stable development of democracy. For this purpose, author invokes the Polish and foreign studies and sources of public opinion surveys, referring mainly to the example of Poland. Atthe beginning terms such as civil society and stable democracy are explained. Then the arguments are given and critical private opinions of the author. They confirm this thesis. There is no shortage of the scientific data and references to personal experiences of the author, which is professionally associated with many non-governmental organizations for several years. This texts aim is to deepen the theme of the development of civil society and encourage the substantive discussion of the condition of contemporary democracy in Poland.

This paper examines various analyses of the relationship between citizenship and rights, drawing on the work of T H Marshal, Karl Vasak and John Urry, and relates these to citizenship education. It is argued that citizenship can be defined around conceptions of human rights, and that these have developed in civil, political and social phases. Rights are consequent on membership of a community, but we have seen, particularly in the development of the European Union, a decoupling of rights from territory. As we have multiple identities, we also may have multiple citizenships. The paper moves to analyse how communities are constructed, and identifies iconic, symbolic and enactive aspects in the formation of a community. Relating these to citizenship education, it is argued that Jerome Bruner’s model of learning is particularly appropriate. While citizenship education has traditionally focused on the iconic and symbolic, it is necessary for young people to engage inactively with citizenship in order to learn civic participation, and such active learning is best focussed on the extension of human rights into new domains.