CIVIL SOCIETY AND THE EUROPEAN UNION IN TIMES OF CRISIS: FROM PARTNERSHIP TO THREAT?

Abstract

The article analyses the changes in the interaction between the EU institutions and civil society organizations. The article first sets the conceptual stage by examining the role of civil society in the political arena and specifically in the context of the Europeanization. It then identifies 3 major phases of European activism: 1) 1993–2001, the period in which institutional channels were opened for civil society at the European level; 2) 2001–2014, the period in which civil society played a full role within the EU governance; 3) 2014 to present day, in which the emergence and consolidation of anti-EU establishment civil society has become a central political issue for the EU. Three specific European master frames are analyzed, before the focus is shifted to the global level. Concluding remarks are presented on the critical issue and the future prospect for the EU with reference to the impact of social mobilization from below in a context of crisis.

Keywords

• european union
• civil society
• governance
• globalization
• economic crisis