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Between Contestation and Cooptation: the Participation of Civil Society Organisations to the European Union Integration Process

Objectif

The aim of this project is to analyse the various modes of contribution of civil society organisations in the process of integration within the EU. My intention is to understand why and how certain groups are recognised as legitimate actors, whereas others are limited to alternative fields of action, in both national and transnational environments. My hypothesis is that the institutional forms of civil society consultation that the EU has initiated, and the much stronger reactions of protest that the EU provokes, are two sides of a single reality. This requires me to consider the interrelations that are at work, both in national and European terms, in the emergence of European civil society. My general research objective is related to various aspects: I) Building a cartography and a complete sociology of “organised European civil society groups”; II) Analysing the protests originating from “transnational civil society”. The European Social Forum can be seen as crystallising moments of this phenomenon; III) Studying the ways civil society is becoming Europeanised, with special attention to civic and social interests. The intention is therefore to establish whether or not the building of Europe is compatible with balanced representation of interests; in other words, does it follow an oligarchic process serving the specific interests of hegemonic minorities, often denounced in economic terms, or is it actually conducive to pluralist expression of a host of causes or interests? One of the main originality of the project is the decompartmentalisation of analyses of interest groups and social movements, since both are essential to an understanding of the relationships between CSOs in European and national terms. Several data-collection techniques are used in this research: quantitative standardized survey, network analysis, semi-structured interviews and lengthy personal interviews, documents from organisations, and systematic consultation of secondary sources.

Appel à propositions

FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IEF
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Coordinateur

EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE
Contribution de l’UE
€ 221 553,20
Adresse
VIA DEI ROCCETTINI 9
50014 Fiesole
Italie

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Région
Centro (IT) Toscana Firenze
Type d’activité
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Contact administratif
Serena Scarselli (Mrs.)
Liens
Coût total
Aucune donnée