Participatory Democracy and Civil Society in the EU: Agenda-Setting and Institutionalisation (Palgrave Studies in European Political Sociology)

This book is about both the symbolic and the real struggles for the control of the EU's agenda on participatory democracy in the last fifteen years. The book analyzes how civil society organizations contributed to an agenda which has implications for the regulation of interest groups to the institutions and for the democratic legitimacy of the EU. "Cover"--"Title" -- "Copyright" -- "Dedication" -- "Contents" -- "List of Figures" -- "List of Tables" -- "Preface" -- "Acknowledgements" -- "List of Abbreviations" -- "1 The Contribution of Civil Societyto Bridging the Gap with EUCitizens: Reviewing a Decade ofDebate" -- "2 From the Regulation of Lobbies toParticipatory Democracy: AgendaSetting and Civil Society in the EU" -- "3 Interpretive Frames in the Agenda-Setting Process, 1997â#x80;#x93;2003" -- "4 Networking and Alliances" -- "5 Organised Civil Society and theConventionâ#x80;#x99;s Agenda" -- "6 Influence on the Agenda and FieldEffects" -- "7 The Development of theParticipatory Agenda in theAftermath of the Convention(2003â#x80;#x93;2011): Consultation andDirect Participation" -- "8 Assessing the Contribution ofParticipation to Legitimacy" -- "9 A Decade of Debate aboutParticipatory Democracy" -- "Annexes" -- "Annex 1 List of interviews" -- "Annex 2 List of EU level organisations andavailable data" -- "Annex 3 Coding matrices" -- "Annex 4 Networking questionnaire" -- "Annex 5 Network analysis method and data sources" -- "Annex 6 Evidence of origin pilot and actual ECIs" -- "Annex 7 In- and out degrees" -- "Notes" -- "References." The European Union's official internet portal still highlights how the mechanisms of the Lisbon Treaty for participation through organized civil society and citizens contributes to making the EU more democratic and transparent. Luis Bouza Garcia analyzes the institutionalization of these participatory mechanisms by asking what EU institutions and civil society organizations were trying to achieve in the agenda setting process. This book explores the democratic potential of these mechanisms by analyzing the discourses and activism of the actors involved in the agenda setting, recognition, and implementation of the participatory mechanisms at EU level from 1997 to 2012. Bouza Garcia finds that the aims of civil society organizations namely recognised access to the EU - were more stable than those of the EU institutions which have evolved from fostering participatory democracy to enhance transparency and debates in the European public sphere. Participatory Democracy and Civil Society in the EU concludes that the field of civil society participation is not yet fully stabilized and its evolution will continue Front Matter....Pages i-xvi The Contribution of Civil Society to Bridging the Gap with EU Citizens: Reviewing a Decade of Debate....Pages 1-18 From the Regulation of Lobbies to Participatory Democracy: Agenda Setting and Civil Society in the EU....Pages 19-40 Interpretive Frames in the Agenda-Setting Process, 1997–2003....Pages 41-69 Networking and Alliances....Pages 70-82 Organised Civil Society and the Convention’s Agenda....Pages 83-98 Influence on the Agenda and Field Effects....Pages 99-114 The Development of the Participatory Agenda in the Aftermath of the Convention (2003–2011): Consultation and Direct Participation....Pages 115-129 Assessing the Contribution of Participation to Legitimacy....Pages 130-143 A Decade of Debate about Participatory Democracy....Pages 144-157 Back Matter....Pages 158-199