Horizontal Europeanisation : The Transnationalisation of Daily Life and Social Fields in Europe

Chapter 8 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license at: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9780815392774 European integration has transformed the social life of European citizens. Daily life and work no longer take place primarily in a local and national context, but increasingly in a European and transnational frame – a process of ‘horizontal Europeanisation’ which, while increasing the life chances of European citizens, also brings about conflicts among them. This book focuses on processes of Europeanisation in the academic, bureaucratic, professional and associational field, as well as on the Europeanisation of solidarity, networks and social inequalities. Drawing on detailed empirical studies and attending to the reinforcement of centre‐periphery structures in Europe, it analyses the dynamics of horizontal Europeanisation processes, highlighting the crucial role of national practices and perceptions in a transnational context, as well as the related conflicts between the winners and losers in this process. As such, it will appeal to scholars of sociology and political science with interests in European integration, social change and social stratification. European integration has transformed the social life of European citizens. Daily life and work no longer take place primarily in a local and national context, but increasingly in a European and transnational frame – a process of ‘horizontal Europeanisation'which, while increasing the life chances of European citizens, also brings about conflicts among them. This book focuses on processes of Europeanisation in the academic, bureaucratic, professional and associational field, as well as on the Europeanisation of solidarity, networks and social inequalities. Drawing on detailed empirical studies and attending to the reinforcement of centre‐periphery structures in Europe, it analyses the dynamics of horizontal Europeanisation processes, highlighting the crucial role of national practices and perceptions in a transnational context, as well as the related conflicts between the winners and losers in this process. As such, it will appeal to scholars of sociology and political science with interests in European integration, social change and social stratification.Chapter 8 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license. The European Union started to coordinate and harmonise the asylum policies of their Member States in 1999 within a common 'area of freedom, security and justice', as stipulated by the Treaty of Amsterdam. However, the communitarisation of asylum policies by the EU has not met its main targets, despite the installation of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) and several attempts to implement and improve these regulations and directives by means of legislative reforms, political programmes and administrative initiatives. Today, we are still far from a European-wide asylum regime that implements harmonised procedures, and grants equivalent protection titles across all Member States (Council of the European Union, 2016a). National asylum systems and recognition rates continue to differ widely within the EU (AIDA, 2017; EASO, 2017a) This book focuses on processes of Europeanisation in the academic, bureaucratic, professional and associational field, and the increasingly European context of solidarity, networks and social inequalities.