Bridging the Gap: How do EU-Based Civil Society Organisations Acquire Their Internal Representation?

Summary, in English

In recent decades, the emergence and development of pan-European

civil society organisations have been prominent, including those representing

interests of marginalised groups and raising related social issues. Typically composed of national and European level umbrella organisations, some of these

organisations have grown as important interlocutors between EU institutions and

civil society, and derive legitimacy for their advocacy and lobbying activities by

claiming broad representativeness. Through a comparative study of five principal

EU-based civil society organisations, the present article analyses how these

organisations, operating at multiple levels with their membership based on extensive

geographical areas, acquire internal representation of members and beneficiaries.

• Author: Håkan Johansson; Jayeon Lindellee
• Department/s: School of Social Work
• Publishing year: 2014
• Language: English
• Pages: 405-424
• Publication/Series: Voluntas
• Volume: 25
• Issue: 2
• Links: http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs11266-012-9343-4; http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11266-012-9343-4
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: Springer
• Topic: Social Work
• Keywords: sociolgy; Marginalised groups; The European Union; Political representation; Civil society organisations
• Status: Published
• Project: Beyond the welfare state: Europeanization of Swedish civil society organizations (EUROCIV)
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 0957-8765