1st Edition

Democracy in the European Union Towards the Emergence of a Public Sphere

Edited By Liana Giorgi, Ingmar von Homeyer, Wayne Parsons Copyright 2007
    232 Pages 4 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    232 Pages 4 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    An invaluable exploration of the concern that transfers of power to European Union institutions are producing a worrying new form of democratic deficit.

    While ongoing reforms of these institutions promise to render decision processes at European level more transparent and accountable, these expert authors examine whether there is a European public sphere for citizens and their representatives to discuss, deliberate and evaluate issues of public relevance. They show how the process of European integration has given rise to a new object of study – European society, and why key questions concerning identity, citizenship, democracy, government and institutions are being raised anew and are major political concerns at European and Member State level.

    With six case studies of EU policy-making and representative institutions, they analyze the intensity of participatory practices in four dimensions: mobilization of societal actors, public contestation and debate, openness of decision-making, and responsiveness of policy makers.

    This book will be of strong interest to students and researchers of the European Union, European politics, European studies as well as those concerned with more theoretical aspects of governance and the public sphere.

    1. Introduction: The Political Sociology of the European Public Sphere
    2. John Crowley and Liana Giorgi

    3. Democratization and the European Union
    4. Liana Giorgi

    5. Participatory Governance in the European Union
    6. Ingmar von Homeyer

    7. The Emergence of a European Political Class
    8. Elise Feron, John Crowley and Liana Giorgi

    9. The Anti-Globalization Movement and the European Agenda
    10. Elise Feron

    11. The European Union as a Community of Values
    12. Liana Giorgi, Niki Rodousakis, Marisol Garcia and Martin Peterson

    13. EU Accession and the Public Sphere in New Members States: the Case of the Czech Republic
    14. Michal Illner, Daniel Cermák, Tomáš Kostelecký and Jana Stachová

    15. Conclusion: What Future for European Integration and Democracy?

              Wayne Parsons

    Biography

    Liana Giorgi is Vice-Director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Comparative Research in the Social Sciences (ICCR), Austria.

    Ingmar von Homeyer is a Senior Fellow at Ecologic, Institute for International and European Environmental Policy, Berlin/Brussels.

    Wayne Parsons is Professor of Public Policy and Head of Department at Queen Mary, University of London, UK.