Product Description: This volume provides a novel and relational sociological approach to the study of EU civil society. It focuses on the interactions and interrelations between civil society actors and the forms of capital that structure the fields and sub-fields of EU civil society, through new and important empirical studies on organized EU civil society...read more

Product Description: Democracies are transforming worldwide, but at the same time political inequality is increasing. This development threatens to leave growing portions of mass publics effectively ‘outside’ the political process. This volume brings together leading authorities in the field of democratic citizenship and participation to address pertinent questions concerning the quality of the democratic political process at the beginning of the twenty-first century...read more

Product Description: Is the ‘golden age’ of democracy really over due to the pressures of globalisation and the erosion of the nation state? Within this book, Heinelt seeks to address the democratic deficit in political systems linked to limited Citizen Participation reflecting on the notion of democracy and participatory governance and how they relate to each other...read more

Product Description: ,The papers in this collection, written by a cross-regional group of experts, provide insights into the causes of declining levels of citizen participation and other distinct forms of civic activism in Europe and explore a range of factors contributing to apathy and eventually disengagement from vital political processes and institutions...read more

Product Description: This book attempts to address an important question: where is the European project going? As Europe struggles with the most profound economic and social crises in recent history, what happens to the promises of freedom, democracy, equality and respect for the inviolable and inalienable rights of the human person proclaimed in the Preamble of the Treaty on European Union? How does the European Union intend to demonstrate its commitment to fundamental social rights at a time of widespread deregulation and an increasingly precarious labour market? How can we further enhance the democratic and efficient functioning of European institutions when there is a growing distance between citizens and political elites? This publication is based on papers given at the international conference «Citizenship and Solidarity in the European Union - from the Charter of Fundamental Rights to the Crisis: The State of the Art», which took place in the School of Law at the University of Minho, Portugal, in May 2012...read more

Product Description: How can the European Union engage and connect with the people it aims to represent? What initiatives and schemes have been used to engage EU citizens? To what extent can such procedures be considered a move forward towards a more participative and democratic Europe? This collection of internationally recognised specialists in European integration and innovative democratic practices seek to answer these key questions, explore European citizens’ thoughts and opinions about the EU and evaluate the governing elite’s attempts to engage with the public...read more

Product Description: This book provides an in-depth analysis of the way that Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) define their roles within multilateral institutions, both at the global level and, more specifically, within the European Union framework. The author argues that the use of conceptual categories such as global civil society and global governance is necessary to explain what is currently happening in the international political system in this era of globalisation...read more

Product Description: Democracy is not merely a political and legal system; it depends on social and economic commitments as well. Democracy is not only realized through elections; it requires civic participation through permanent dialogue. This volume addresses this central, yet often overlooked, issue in a series of essays by renowned scholars from Europe and the United States, reviving a concept that dates back to the foundation of the European Union: social dialogue as a fundamental part of the construction of the union...read more

Product Description: A Republic of Europeans looks at the changing routes and conditions of the European polity from a liberal republican angle, proposing an innovative regulative ideal for Europe's future. The book assesses the prospects for uniting diverse publics into a composite polity with its own sense of 'demos-hood'...read more

Product Description: The European Union has come under pressure from different sides. First, it is undergoing a period of institutional and political reforms which are, however, progressing slowly. Secondly, its shape is being influenced decisively by the inclusion of new Member States...read more

Product Description: The contributors to this new book analyse the opportunities for civil society associations to contribute to European integration and decision-making from various perspectives. The research demonstrates that the Europeanization process - in terms of civil society actors adapting to the European political space - has an uneven development...read more