Methodologies and Research Design in the Social Sciences

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A Political Sociology of European Democracy
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A Political Sociology of European Democracy
Week 7 Lecture 1 Lecturer Paul Blokker
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Introduction

• Part III
• The Political Sociological Study of European
  Democracy
• Specific case-studies
• Political sociology of elites
• Political sociology of social movements
• Sociology of migration
• Forms of critique on EU democracy
• Methodologies

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Introduction

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Political Sociology

• Part III
• The Political Sociological Study of European
  Democracy

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Political Sociology

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Post-national democracy

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Post-national democracy

• The new era of rights
• Stefano Rodotà
• - There is a recent renewal in attachments to
  rights both Obama and Hollande refer to gay
  rights and same sex marriages in public debate
• - Also in Italy, rights have new coinage the
  Corte di Cassazione recently ruled in favour of
  gay marriages

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Post-national democracy

• The new era of rights
• Stefano Rodotà
• - Such renewed relevance of rights has a lot to
  do with a European dimension
• - The European Court of Human Rights and the EU
  Charter of Fundamental Rights provide the basis
  for the protection and extension of rights
• - Also the Lisbon Treaty contributes to a rights
  extension for instance, the right to a Citizens
  Initiative.

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Post-national democracy

• The new era of rights
• Stefano Rodotà
• - Europe is thus not merely about economic
  predominance and narrow-minded politics
• - Europe is also about rights, and offers an
  additional level of protection and enablement to
  citizens
• - Economic and monetary integration is
  paralleled by an integration by means of rights

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Post-national democracy

• The new era of rights
• Stefano Rodotà
• - Europe is thus not merely about economic
  predominance and narrow-minded politics
• - Europe is also about rights, and offers an
  additional level of protection and enablement to
  citizens
• - Economic and monetary integration is
  paralleled by an integration by means of rights

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Post-national democracy

• The new era of rights
• Stefano Rodotà
• - Europe is thus not merely about economic
  predominance and narrow-minded politics
• - Europe is also about rights, and offers an
  additional level of protection and enablement to
  citizens
• - Economic and monetary integration is
  paralleled by an integration by means of rights

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Post-national democracy

• The new era of rights
• Stefano Rodotà
• - Europe suffers from a double deficit
• 1. democratic (input, participation)
• 2. legitimacy (output, for whom? solidarity)
• - These deficits have become more evident in the
  current crisis
• - Many now argue for a new constitutional
  project, including a reinforcement of the EP

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Post-national democracy

• The new era of rights
• Stefano Rodotà
• - If Europe needs redemocratization the
  development of a common economic policy is not
  enough, it would merely create a European
  democracy without a people
• - Current elections result point to times that
  are changing citizens actions work through
  rights, and citizens are the indispensable
  protagonists of a possible new era.

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Post-national democracy

• A Porous Democracy Will Save Europe
• Andrea Manzella La Repubblica
• - The real democratic question of our times is
  the relationship between the democratic state and
  the financial economy
• - The problems of the Euro and of the crisis in
  general have turned into a kind of subterranean
  referendum on being pro or contra the EU

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Post-national democracy

• A Porous Democracy Will Save Europe
• Andrea Manzella La Repubblica
• - Three radical changes
• 1. States as Masters of the Treaties ?
  Treaties as Masters of States
• 2. The democratic deficit has descended to the
  state level an induced democratic deficit
• 3. A rapidly increased visibility of the EU in
  national public debates.

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Post-national democracy

• A Porous Democracy Will Save Europe
• Andrea Manzella La Repubblica
• - A new political energy is visible
• - It is not true that this energy is necessarily
  populist
• - This energy could also be pushing towards a
  porous democracy which is able to connect
  national democracies and a EU democracy.

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Political Sociology

• Part III
• The Political Sociological Study of European
  Democracy

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EU democracy analysed

• A Political Sociology of European Actors
• (Georgakakis Weisbein 2010)
• - In political scientific and other approaches
  to European integration, actors have not figured
  prominently, at least not in individualistic or
  group terms (exception history of EU
  integration)
• - A prominent emphasis is on states
  (intergovernmentalism) and institutions (the
  Council, the Commission)

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EU democracy analysed

• A Political Sociology of European Actors
• (Georgakakis Weisbein 2010)
• - An important sociological thread in European
  research is endorsing an approach that focuses on
  actors in their own right
• - A political sociology (i.e. focussing on
  actors that are important for European politics)
  might engage with both elite actors on the EU
  level as well as social actors, on the level of
  society

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A Political Sociology of European Actors The EU
institutional field - The EU can be understood
as consisting of an institutional field (or
several), with its own rules, norms, rites and
rituals, forms of interaction, distinct types of
capital, distinct discourses (cf. Bourdieu for
the idea of field) - The political field
encompasses a sphere that is about representation
and protest, a universalistic, public/civic
language, distinct rituals (European summits,
conventions, presidencies), social and cultural
capital.
EU democracy analysed

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A Political Sociology of European Actors The EU
institutional field - A focus on the EU as a
multi-level political field emphasizes 1. the
political struggle between groups and
individuals over the object of Europe/the
EU 2. a focus on the political agents
(political elites, civil activists,
intellectuals, bureaucrats) involved in the
construction of the EU/European integration
(cf. Kauppi 2005)
EU democracy analysed

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A Political Sociology of European Actors The EU
institutional field - Two types of factors
hamper the democratic quality of the EU 1.
the executive-domination of the political
field 2. the European political field is
dominated by national politics and political
cultures (Kauppi 2005)
EU democracy analysed

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A Political Sociology of European Actors The EU
institutional field 1. The concept of field
calls for a different approach to EU
institutions, that is, historically tracing
internal cleavages and analysing the positions of
different types of actors (full time Europeans
vs. part-time) 2. An emphasis on elite
configurations as present in the social field of
the EU (shifting importance as, for instance, in
the recent rise of experts) 3. The effect of
the structure of positions on how agents think
about Europe.
EU democracy analysed

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EU democracy analysed
A Political Sociology of European Actors The EU
institutional field - A political sociology of
elites might reveal important insights in the
social, academic, and professional backgrounds of
those in charge - A political sociology of EU
also contributes to a more intricate
understanding of relations and conflict between
relevant political actors (for instance, between
political and bureaucratic actors, e.g., the EC
and the DGs)

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EU democracy analysed
A Political Sociology of European Actors The EU
institutional field - Focussing on elites and
their specific backgrounds as well as communities
has important advantages 1. Enriching and
historicising existing studies in EU
institutions 2. Reconceptualizing the
institutionalization of the EU (using, e.g.,
different fields)

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EU democracy analysed
A Political Sociology of European Actors The EU
institutional field - A sociology focussed on
social agents and groups might start from the
ideas of - interaction - conflicts and
tensions - the notion of habitus (dispositions
to act) - ideas and discourses - relational
contexts (fields, institutions, organizations)


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EU democracy analysed
A Political Sociology of European Actors The EU
institutional field - Mapping out the persons
that populate the EU institutions should start
from their biographies and prosopographies - In
this way, actors positions can be mapped out
(origin, institutions) as well as the structure
of resources and experiences (incl. social
capital)

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EU democracy analysed
A Political Sociology of European Actors The EU
institutional field - An example is DG Regio
is populated by geographers and urban
sociologists whereas DG Comp is populated by
economic jurists habitus/epistemic
communities networks power resources

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• A Political Sociology of European Actors
• The EU institutional field
• - By sociologically researching actors one
  contributes to a more complex picture of European
  politics
• - duality national-supranational (?)
• - official role of EU institutions (e.g.
  Commissionsupranational)
• - organizational cultures
• - importance of specific skills (e.g.
  technocratic in 1990s, management and financial
  in 2000s)
• - importance of ideas/dispositions.

EU democracy analysed

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• A Political Sociology of European Actors
• The EU institutional field
• - A political sociology can also fruitfully turn
  to the study of European society
• - Such a study can include the attention for the
  social foundations of European integration,
  including in the form of matrimonial choices,
  sports (football as European integration),
  intra-EU mobility, towns twinning, Capitals of
  Culture, consumption patterns, professional
  identities, etc.

EU democracy analysed

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• A Political Sociology of European Actors
• The EU institutional field
• - Actors of European society include
  individuals, professional communities, students,
  voluntary associations, social classes)
• - A focus on social actors helps us to
  understand how non-political issues may produce a
  relatively integrated community (Georgakakis
  Weisbein 2010)

EU democracy analysed

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• A Political Sociology of European Actors
• The EU institutional field
• Benefits of a focus on European society
• 1. An understanding of the diversity of groups
  and actors engaged in European integration/routine
  interaction on European level leads to a
  re-evaluation of what European integration is
  about
• 2. A shift in focus on actors until recently
  seen as less relevant (regional/local
  governments, national political ministries,
  experts, local interest groups)

EU democracy analysed

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• A Political Sociology of European Actors
• The EU institutional field
• Benefits of a focus on European society
• 1. An understanding of the diversity of groups
  and actors engaged in European integration/routine
  interaction on European level leads to a
  re-evaluation of what European integration is
  about
• 2. A shift in focus on actors until recently
  seen as less relevant (regional/local
  governments, national political ministries,
  experts, local interest groups)

EU democracy analysed

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• A Political Sociology of European Actors
• The EU institutional field
• Benefits of a focus on European society
• 1. An understanding of the diversity of groups
  and actors engaged in European integration/routine
  interaction on European level leads to a
  re-evaluation of what European integration is
  about
• 2. A shift in focus on actors until recently
  seen as less relevant (regional/local
  governments, national political ministries,
  experts, local interest groups)

EU democracy analysed

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• A Political Sociology of European Actors
• Eurostars and Eurocities (Adrian Favell)
• - A sociology of free moving professionals in
  the EU
• - Contribution to understanding the slowness
  with which a European society in terms of
  cross-border settlement emerges in the EU
• - A sociological study of how European society
  is - or is - not created through individual life
  choices and career trajectories

EU democracy analysed

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EU democracy analysed

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EU democracy analysed

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EU democracy analysed

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• A Political Sociology of European Actors
• Eurostars and Eurocities (Adrian Favell)
• - Even if one of the core missions of the EU is
  to break down barriers to free movement,
  surprisingly few people move and settle
  permanently outside of their own country of
  origin
• - The percentage of the EU population is well
  under 5 and much behind migration of non-EU
  people
• - In highly global countries such as Britain or
  the Netherlands the figure is under 1,5

EU democracy analysed

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• A Political Sociology of European Actors
• Eurostars and Eurocities (Adrian Favell)
• - Favell attempts a novel approach to the study
  of globalization and Europeanization,
  individual-focussed and using qualitative methods
  (participant observation, oral history)
• - He focusses on distinct Eurocities (Brussels,
  Amsterdam) and Eurostars (young professionals)
• - Among other things, he tries to understand the
  level of Europeanization in terms of intra-EU
  mobility and the importance of EU citizenship

EU democracy analysed

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