This book shines new light on the political system of the European Union (EU) by focusing on civic resources as a keystone of the EU’s ability to sustain. Less-tangible resources such as trust, solidarity, mutual recognition and citizens’ social and political participation have been, until now, largely ignored in the research on European integration.
Due to the fundamental changes to the EU in recent years and the challenges ahead, European citizens have become increasingly critical of a long-lasting unification process in Europe. This volume theoretically and empirically examines how the European citizens themselves may contribute to the long-term effectiveness, legitimacy and endurance of the EU. This book aims to examine the issues associated with the utilization of civic resources by the EU, and the ability of European citizens to develop transnational civic resources. Expert contributors in the field develop a framework to understand and explore the potential of citizens in the uncertain future of the EU.
Civic Resources and the Future of the European Union will be of interest to students and scholars of European Politics and European Union Studies.
Introduction: Europe’s Blues and Europe’s Future – Civic Resources for a European Union in trouble Viktoria Kaina and Ireneusz Pawel Karolewski Part I: Trust, Identity and Support for the EU 1. Identification and Trust – Resources of Support for the European Union? Bettina Westle 2. What does the EU mean to you personally? Citizens’ images of and support for the European Union? Nicola Bücker 3. Trust in Co-Europeans and support for European unification: Extending the identity approach Jan Delhey 4. "In the Union we trust"? – Institutional confidence and citizens’ support for supranational decision making Viktoria Kaina PART II: Civic resources, recognition and citizenship 5. Civic Resources for European Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe Matthew Loveless 6. Mobilising civic resources through eParticipation in the European public sphere: Problemsolving, relegitimising or decoupling? Simon Smith 7. Conceptualising (and tentatively mapping) the EU’s social constituency Erik Fossum & Marit Eldholm 8. Caesarean citizenship and its anti-civic potential in the European Union Ireneusz Pawel Karolewski Part III: Conceptual and Theoretical Considerations 9. From crisis to constitution?: Europe’s path from culture to politics Enno Rudolph 10. Analyzing European identity – the need for civic resources Viktoria Kaina