Social movements and the European interest intermediation of public interest groups

• Autores: Carlo Ruzza
• Localización: Revue d'integration europeenne= Journal of european integration, ISSN 0703-6337, Vol. 33, Nº 4, 2011 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Territorial and Functional Interest Representation in EU-Governance), págs. 453-469
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • It is argued that, in the EU environment, social movements are important actors and acquire distinctive traits in terms of coalitional activities, inter-institutional relations, modes of financing, and representational activities. They put forward an often utopian vision of desirable policy changes that other non-state organizations and institutional activists can utilise as a negotiating standards, whilst recognising, however, that they may be unachievable. This role is appreciated by institutional activists � bureaucratic and political actors sympathetic to movements � who typically attempt to channel funds, legitimacy and visibility to social movement organizations, both for reasons of ideological congruence and to engage in processes of bureau-shaping and budget maximising from which they benefit. The relative absence of strong policy steering on the EU level enables them to do so to a larger extent than in national polities. This is however more likely to occur when there is a specific legal base that legitimises movements� support.