Civil Society and the ‘Neighbourhood’ — Europeanization through Cross-Border Cooperation?

This collaborative study pursues a dual objective. On the one hand, it focuses on the actual and potential roles of civil society in developing new forms of political, economic and socio-cultural cooperation within the emerging 'European Neighbourhood'. On the other hand, through this investigation of civil society networks it contributes to the 'Europeanization' debate with regard to the influence of the EU in civil society development in neighbouring states and on cross-border civil society interaction within the neighbourhood context. This will include a comparative analysis of perceptions of the EU and its role in empowering civil society as related by civil society actors. The rationale for this collection of essays is thus defined by the transformation of political relationships between the 27-member European Union and countries in its immediate vicinity. Based on research funded by the European Union's 6th Framework Programme, the authors will perform this investigation by analysing cooperation processes, the multi-level contexts within which they operate and, perhaps most importantly, the role of the EU in conditioning civil society relationships within the Neighbourhood.