CSOs seen through the optic of the European Commission
Has the Commission’s perspective changed following the refugee crisis and the populist turn
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7989538 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Milica Pejovic (University of Trento, corresponding author), Paolo Cossarini (0000-0001-9319-8623, University of Trento) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 503-519 |
| Publication date | 2020-07-31 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | European Politics and Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2374-5126 • E-ISSN: 2374-5118 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/23745118.2020.1801182 |
| OpenAlex | W3046797046 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 34 |
This article examines the European Commission’s discourse to identify whether and how the Commission’s perception of the role of civil society organisations (CSOs) has evolved in the context of the refugee crisis and the rise of right-wing populism. To this end, we conduct thematic and frame analyses of a variegated data set consisting of announcements, speeches, press releases, and statements published by the Commission between 2013 and 2018. The article shows that the ‘refugee crisis’ and the populist turn have changed the European Commission’s view of CSOs, particularly concerning their democratic function within the European Union set-up as providers of input legitimacy. The lower profile given to civil society in the Commission’s discourse following the surge in populism and growing animosities towards non-governmental organisations signals a discursive turn in the Commission’s perception of CSOs as catalysers of participative and deliberative democracy as well as of policy-making informed by CSO expertise. However, the Commission has framed CSOs as important contributors to the output legitimacy of European Union policies, emphasising the role of civil society in the implementation of migration policies through socioeconomic reforms, providing services, and ‘debunking’ migration-related information
Civil society · Commission · Context (archaeology · Democracy · democratic deficit · Economics · European union · Legitimacy · Political science · Politics · Populism · Refugee · Sociology · European Union Policy and Governance · Law · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Public Administration
From mobilization to revolution
Mobilizing on the Extreme RightGermany, Italy, and the United States
The Politics of Fear
Right-Wing Populism in Europe
On Extremism and Democracy in Europe
European Civil Society and Human Rights Advocacy
Xenophobia and Islamophobia in Europe
Welfare State Supporter and Civil Society Activist
Civil Society Actors and EU Fundamental Rights Policy
Why Politics Matters
Giving a European Dimension to Civil Society Organizations
Populism at work
Young people, political participation and online postmaterialism in Greece
Populism and euroscepticism
European Civil Society and the EU Fundamental Rights Agency
Rethinking media responsibility in the refugee ‘crisis’
Bowling for Fascism
Europe's odyssey
Social media in/and the politics of the European Union
The Mediatization and the Politicization of the “Refugee Crisis” in Europe
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Nations of Joiners
Protest participation and economic crisis
Ethno-nationalist populism and the mobilization of collective resentment
Confronting 'Uncivil Society' and the 'Dark Side of Globalization
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |