Editorial: Beyond the Brussels Bubble? National Civil Society Organisations in the European Union

Salgado, Rosa Sánchez; Demidov, Andrey

doi:10.30950/jcer.v14i2.980

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(35 reference statements)

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“…There has also been a notable shift in the scholarly literature from a focus on Brusselsbased CSOs towards domestic civil society mobilization in Europe (Sánchez-Salgado and Demidov 2018;Wunsch 2018;Novak and Lajh 2018;Odasso 2018;Buzogány 2018). Indeed, we posit that the domestic context plays a fundamental role for the transnational mobilization of CSOs.…”

Section: Conceptualizing Transnationalization In the European Contextmentioning

confidence: 85%

Europeanization as Pragmatic Politics: Italy’s Civil Society Actors Operating in the Face of Right-Wing Populism

Mat,

Chiodi,

Schmidtke

2024

Social Sciences

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This article examines how and under what conditions Italy’s civil society organizations (CSOs) have resorted to transnational activism and to what extent these efforts translate into impactful political advocacy. The analysis focuses on the action strategies of these civil society actors that have come under considerable pressure through the resurgence of populist–nationalist actors in the domestic arena. Developing an actor-centred perspective from below, this article draws on a series of 27 interviews conducted with these organizations’ representatives working primarily on issues related to migration and refugees in Italy. The empirical study examines some key initiatives that see domestic CSOs as protagonists in the transnational realm and explicates their motivations, approaches, and experiences. Conceptually, the article distinguishes between the vertical and horizontal Europeanization of CSOs. While there are notable opportunities for CSOs to engage in Brussels-centred governance and policy making, the effectiveness of horizontal Europeanization in the form of cross-border networking is—at first sight paradoxically—limited by the EU’s system of multi-level governance. The central argument about Europeanizing civil society activism is that these processes are primarily driven by a pragmatic pursuit of solutions to concrete political challenges that could not be properly addressed in an increasingly hostile domestic environment.

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Section: Conceptualizing Transnationalization In the European Contextmentioning

confidence: 85%

Europeanization as Pragmatic Politics: Italy’s Civil Society Actors Operating in the Face of Right-Wing Populism

Mat,

Chiodi,

Schmidtke

2024

Social Sciences

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“…National public policy actors can take an active stance in EU policymaking by engaging, interpreting, appropriating, or ignoring the processes involved with European integration (Woll & Jacquot, 2010, p. 113). Accordingly, we can note the recent growth in interest in the Europeanisation of interest groups as scholars principally consider the role of interest groups in EU policymaking, their participation in EU-level umbrella organisations, and the effects of EU funding on interest groups (e.g., Dür & Mateo, 2014;Johansson & Jacobsson, 2016;Kanol, 2016;Klüver, 2010;Maloney et al, 2018;Pritoni, 2017;Sanchez Salgado, 2014;Sanchez Salgado & Demidov, 2018).…”

Section: The Europeanisation Of Interest Groupsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The EU is not simply located in the Brussels bubble but its impacts are felt well beyond (Sanchez Salgado & Demidov, 2018) and influence interest groups in a variety of ways, which is the main argument put forward in this article.…”

Section: Participatorymentioning

confidence: 99%

New Kids on the Democracy Block: Europeanisation of Interest Groups in Central and Eastern Europe

Novak,

Lajh

2024

PaG

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The 2004 EU enlargement and related Europeanisation processes supported the development of stagnated interest group systems in many ways, including with respect to the professionalisation of mainly voluntary-based organisations in Central and Eastern Europe. In the pre-membership period and initial years after joining the EU, national interest groups from Central and Eastern Europe chiefly relied on EU-level interest groups for important information, knowledge, and know-how concerning EU policymaking, whereas 20 years of membership has today established them as equal partners and co-decision-makers. The article elaborates on the Europeanisation of interest groups in the Central and Eastern Europe region from the start of the process of accession to the EU, with three case studies in focus: Lithuania, Poland, and Slovenia. The main research question is: In which different ways has the Europeanisation process influenced interest groups in the region? To address it, the article builds on Johansson and Jacobsson’s (2016) typology of the Europeanisation of interest groups. Six exploratory factors were examined in this regard: (a) contacts with EU policymakers and institutions, (b) interest in EU policymaking, (c) funding received from EU projects and programmes, (d) networking with EU umbrella organisations, (e) participation in open consultations, and (f) the relationship of the group with members. To study the effects of Europeanisation processes in selected countries, web survey data gathered from national interest groups as part of the Comparative Interest Groups Survey project were used. Our results show that interest groups from Central and Eastern Europe have become “European” in a range of ways. Regulatory and discursive Europeanisation is most typical for Polish interest groups, identity Europeanisation for Lithuanian interest groups, and financial and participatory Europeanisation for Lithuanian and Polish interest groups, while organisational Europeanisation has the strongest effect on interest groups in Slovenia.

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“…There is a wide literature on CSOs at the EU level, which is generally a subset of the literature on interest group politics (Della Sala & Ruzza, 2007;Jobert & Kohler-Koch, 2008;Johansson & Kalm, 2015;Sanchez Salgado & Demidov, 2018). However, the populist turn has rendered much of this literature obsolete.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The populist turn in EU politics and the intermediary role of civil society organisations

Ruzza

Salgado

2020

European Politics and Society

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The introduction to this special issue identifies an analytical and empirical gap in studies on European civil society organisations (CSOs) in the wake of the rise of populism. It explains how different contributions address these gaps. To this end, it first provides a definition of the main terms, including populism and anti-populism. It reconsiders assumptions regarding the role of CSOs and social movements as agents of European democratisation and legitimation. The main argument is that the populist turn has led to significant changes regarding the role of CSOs in the EU policy process. These changes are visible in three different but interrelated ways: the relations between European institutions and CSOs, the changes in CSOs goals and strategies, and the changes in the patterns of interaction between CSOs and populist groups. The final part of the introduction gives a brief overview of the contributions to this special issue and highlights how they provide further insights into the overall topic of relations between the EU and CSOs.

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Editorial: Beyond the Brussels Bubble? National Civil Society Organisations in the European Union

Cited by 6 publications

References 28 publications

Europeanization as Pragmatic Politics: Italy’s Civil Society Actors Operating in the Face of Right-Wing Populism

Europeanization as Pragmatic Politics: Italy’s Civil Society Actors Operating in the Face of Right-Wing Populism

New Kids on the Democracy Block: Europeanisation of Interest Groups in Central and Eastern Europe

The populist turn in EU politics and the intermediary role of civil society organisations

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