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Civil Society And The Building Of Democracy In European Union

Posted on:2017-11-23Degree:DoctorType:Dissertation
Country:ChinaCandidate:Y WangFull Text:PDF
GTID:1316330545975075Subject:International relations
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
Since 1990s,as the European integration develops towards a higher political union,there has emerged a new trend in EU study which analyzes European political order with norm-analysis approach.Some scholars name this as "a norm shift" and point out that democratic legitimacy is one of the major topics in the shift under the European political integration.Civil society and the reconstruction of democracy in Europe is considered as a new research field,which emerges not only because EU institutions strongly promotes the involvement of civil society in decision-making process,but also because it entails strong internal relations between civil society and democracy.This dissertation attempts to make a systematic analysis on the relationship between civil society and the building of democracy in EU,and to make basic judgments about what kind of value does civil society adds to democracy,how could these values be realized and how to evaluate the role of civil society in the reconstruction of democracy in Europe,with the hope to provide inspiration for the construction of socialist democracy in China.In this dissertation,civil society is defined as a social space which exists beyond state and market,consisting of individual citizen,all kinds of social organizations and associations,social movements and public sphere.It can affect the European integration by transcending territorial limitation.As for the building of democracy in European Union,as there are many uncertainties in this unique political entity,this dissertation does not mean to limit to any preset direction,but to explore a way to promote the level of democratic legitimacy of European Union within the current structures.The dissertation begins with the relationship between civil society and democracy,using the status and function of civil society in national and global level as contrast group,combining the research with democratic practices in EU countries.It argues that representative democracy is a basic model of modern democracy,and it is also the cornerstone for the democratic development in EU.Civil society can contribute to shape "European demo" that is the political precondition for representative democracy.But it requires a long and indirect process.Participatory democracy is built on the improvement and reflection of representative democracy.It is urged to involve more non-institutional participation which is located in civil society into the decision making of European Union.Compared with the representative democracy and participatory democracy,deliberative democracy mainly reflects its democratic value through decision-making process.While deliberation is a common phenomenon in the decision making process in European institutions,the parties who can take part in the deliberation are quite restrained.To realize the full value of deliberative democracy,new institutional designs that can combine the EU decision making with macro-deliberation of civil society are needed.Social democracy contains the fields in which democracy is realized,which means that democracy not only contains political democracy,but also economic and social democracy.Without freedom and equity in economic and social life,political democracy is nothing but an unrealistic dream.In the construction of Social Europe,civil society faces many limitations not only in the participation in the social policy areas,but the transnational mobilization around certain public theme.It is unpractical to expect that civil society could promote the degree of social democracy in the Union through a bottom-up approach.What civil society can play in the building of European democracy is a basic and complementary role.Therefore,in the short term,the influence of civil society on the building of European democracy is quite limited.However,it can still be an important factor in the long run.By discussing the relationship between civil society and democratic European Union,this dissertation presents three proposals for China's socialist political reform.Firstly,we need to recognize the role and status of civil society in the building of democracy.Secondly,we need to encourage the extensive involvement of civil society in the public affairs and make further efforts for Incremental Democracy.Thirdly,we need to persist in deepening deliberative democracy in order to improve the quality of our socialist democracy.
Keywords/Search Tags:civil society, building of democracy in EU, political democracy, social democracy
PDF Full Text Request
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