Their Members' Voice : Civil Society Organisations in the European Union

The role of civil society organisations in Brussels is debated. Some view them as representatives of their members and thus as legitimising agents for policy-making in the European Union. Others see them as being elitist and out of touch with their membership bases, therefore ill-suited to promote democracy at the EU level. Taking civil society organisations in the EU's external relations as an example, Meike Rodekamp submits these controversial views to a reality check. Interviews with representatives of civil society organisations in Brussels and their member organisations in the EU show that the Brussels offices have not lost contact with their members. However, member organisations differ substantially in their participation in internal decision-making processes, which raises doubts about the legitimacy gains through civil society participation in EU policy-making. Contents · The Representative Role of Civil Society Organisations in Democracy · Methods, Case Selection, and the Civil Society Organisation Sample · The Formal and the Relational Dimension of Civil Society Organisation Representativeness Target Groups · Researchers and students of political science, in particular in the fields of EU integration, global governance, NGO research, and democratisation · Practitioners of EU politics, in particular EU institution officials, NGO and business association representatives, government representatives, lobbyists in general The Author Dr. Meike Rodekamp works as a policy analyst for the German Council of Science and Humanities (Wissenschaftsrat) in Cologne, Germany Front Matter....Pages 1-15 Introduction....Pages 17-32 The Representative Role of CSOs in Democracy – Origins of the Debate and the EU Context....Pages 33-110 Methods, Case Selection, and the CSO Sample....Pages 111-156 The Formal Dimension of CSO Representativeness....Pages 157-174 The Relational Dimension of CSO Representativeness – Assessing Accountability, Participation, and Satisfaction....Pages 175-236 Synthesis....Pages 237-255 Conclusion....Pages 257-265 Back Matter....Pages 267-306