Civil
Society and the EU.
The Case of Research
Policy
Thesis
Supporting
material
Personal
N.B. Italic links lead to a new page
M.A. Thesis
Mag. Daniel Spichtinger
(Euromasters, University of Bath, 2002 )
Civil Society and the
EU.
An Analysis Focusing on
the Interactions between the Commission and Civil Society Organisations,
with Particular Emphasis on Research Policy.
Abstract
This thesis takes a
multidisciplinary look at the concept of civil society and its
application at the EU level, focusing in particular on the interactions
between civil society organisations and the Commission.
In the first chapter
it will be analysed how various schools of thought conceptualise the
relationship between civil society, the state and the economic sector.
In this regard I will distinguish between broad and inclusive and narrow
and exclusive theories of civil society.
Secondly, it will be
established that a broad conception of civil society is used at the EU
level. We will then look at how civil society interacts with the
Commission, what the dangers of civil society involvement are and
whether economic actors can be said to be dominant. Another issue will
be whether a truly European civil society exists.
After some
intermediary conclusions I will single out research policy as a case
study of civil society involvement. Using both secondary sources and
empirical means I will arrive at the conclusion that business and
science actors still dominate networks in R&D policy. While the
participation of civil society is presently rather limited, the
Commission has started several initiatives to support the inclusion of
civil society organisations in research policy.
Finally, we will
arrive at some policy recommendations derived from both the general
analysis and the case study.
Download
Download the
study here (online version, pdf, 978KB)
Download
my article Civil Society Interaction with the Commission in EU
Research Policy (2003), an update and a summary of my research.
click on the blue text above to load
the pdf file in your browser. Right click and choose save (target) as to
save on your harddisk.
About Euromasters
Euromasters (MA in Contemporary European Studies) is a
postgraduate programme offered jointly by serveral universities across
Europe and the US (coordinated by the university of Bath). It offers
a broad comparative understanding of European or
EU-US politics, policy and social evolution as well as specialist
knowledge of key issues in the Euro-Atlantic area.
Altough
the University of Bath is comparatively young it is already ranked among
the top five British universites by the London Times. In a recent
external subject review of politics and economics the departement
recieved the highest possible score (24 out of 24).
The two
markers agreed on A- as the mark for my M.A. thesis.
For
further information see the Euromasters Webpage
Supporting Material
Latest Developments
10/08 2003 Article Civil Society Interaction with the
Commission in EU Research Policy available under "download"
12/06-13/06 2003 Conference “Governance of the European Research
Area: The Role of Civil Society” (Brussels)
Click here for more information.
06/06 2003 review and update of
website
Personal
Contact:
Daniel Spichtinger
e-mail: dspichtingeratyahoo.de
Note: email has been masked to avoid spam. Please replace "at" with "@".
web: www.oocities.org/d_spichtinger/
Disclaimer:
Pictures taken from www.europa.eu.int and www.cordis.lu for academic
purposes. No copyright infringement intended!
The owner of this website is not in any way responsible for the content
of external links
2002-2003
