ENGLISH

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

By Meike Rodekamp (auth.)

Book information

Publisher
VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften
Year
2014
ISBN
978-3-658-02212-9, 978-3-658-02213-6
DOI
10.1007/978-3-658-02213-6
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
2 MB (2142106 bytes)
Edition
1
Pages
290\302
Orientation
yes
Scanned
yes
Time added
2013-10-26 06:30:30
generalPolitical Science

Description

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.

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