This book assesses how much influence social movements have on EU policy and the means through which influence is secured. Using wide-ranging case studies of campaigns from GMOs to water rights and Internet freedom, it elucidates the important differences between technical and political campaigns.

"Is the European Union a chance or an hindrance for progressive movements? In this volume Louisa Parks provides a theoretically provocative and empirically rich "it depends" answer to this question, comparing several protest campaigns of the civil society and social movement organizations targeting European institutions [...] A must read for scholars of contentious politics and European integration alike." - Professor Donatella della Porta, European University Institute, Italy

"The EU is often seen as a technical entity that encourages lobbying at the summit and leaves a "democratic deficit" at the base. For some issues put forward by some claimants, this is indeed the case. But Louisa Parks' book persuasively shows how other groups making different claims effectively use political strategies at the base of European societies to advance their claims. Employing a strategy of multiple paired comparisons, Parks shows that the EU is far from immune to robust political claim-making, when these claims are made through political strategies mobilizing resources and framing issues at the base of Europe's multilevel system. This is a book that scholars of European integration and social movements alike will want to read." Professor Sidney Tarrow, Cornell University, United States

Autorentext

Louisa Parks is a Lecturer at the School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Lincoln, UK.

Inhalt

1. Introduction
2. Untangling Influence: Studying Social Movement Campaigns In The Transnational EU Arena
3. Political Process And Framing In The Technical Campaigns
4. The Outcomes Of Technical Campaigns In The EU
5. Political Process And Framing In The Political Campaigns
6. The Outcomes Of Political Campaigns In The EU
7. Conclusions: Technical And Political Campaigning In The EU