Participatory democracy and civil society in the EU. Agenda-setting and institutionalisation

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.

Contents:

1. The Contribution of Civil Society to Bridging the Gap with EU Citizens: Reviewing a Decade of Debate
2. From the Regulation of Lobbies to Participatory Democracy: Agenda Setting and Civil Society in the EU
3. Interpretive Frames in the Agenda Setting Process, 1997-2003
4. Networking and Alliances
5. Organized Civil Society and the Convention's Agenda
6. Influence on the Agenda and Field Effects
7. The Development of the Participatory Agenda in the Aftermath of the Convention (2003-2011): Consultation and Direct Participation
8. Assessing the Contribution of Participation to Legitimacy
9. A Decade of Debate on Participatory Democracy