Perspectives of National Elites on European Citizenship
Over the last two decades, the process of European integration has become interwoven with the theme of citizenship and the debate on the democratic quality of the EU and of its institutions has become more salient. What are the views about Europe which emerge when we interrogate the national elites of the four large South European countries, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and what is their vision of a supra-national citizenship in its different facets? Are these views sufficiently homogeneous and do they distinguish themselves from those of the rest of the European Union to the point of enabling us to talk about a distinctive region of Europe? Which interpretation(s) of European citizenship emerges from a systematic exploration of these opinions?
Using a set of survey and textual data collected in the framework of the IntUne project, the authors attempt to provide some original answers to these questions.
This book was published as a special issue of South European Society and Politics.
Nicol Conti is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Unitelma Sapienza University of Rome and Research Fellow at the University of Siena. His main research focus is on parties and the EU.
Maurizio Cotta is Professor of Political Science at the University of Siena. His main research interests are in the field of political elites and political institutions in Europe. He is the coordinator of the EU integrated project IntUne.
Pedro Tavares de Almeida is Professor of Political Science at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universidade Nova de Lisboa. His main research interests are elite recruitment, elections and state-civil society relations.
Employing new and rich data, the authors show that four of the most troubled EU states Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain are in fact led by strongly pro-European elites. Comparing and contrasting how elites in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain perceive European integration, the authors greatly expand our understanding of the EUs troubled Southern tier. This book contributes to our understanding of European integration in a troubled period and is a valuable addition to the study of elites.
John Higley, University of Texas at Austin, Professor of Government and Sociology. Director, Ctr. Australian & New Zealand Studies; Jack S. Blanton Chair in Australian Studies, Departments of Government and Sociology; IPSA Research Committee on Political Elites
In spite of the paramount relevance assigned to elites in virtually all political processes, most publications are still focused on mass-level citizens. This book is an exception. Using the wealth of data collected within the framework of an ambitious comparative research project, and with an excellent integration of theoretical approaches and empirical findings, the authors make an invaluable contribution to the increasing literature on the European Union as a multilevel political system.
Jos Ramn Montero, Professor of Political Science, Universidad Autnoma de Madrid
The entire debate on European citizenship makes a leap forward with this original empirical research so that it will become the standard book for anyone interested in the topic. When a divide between Southern and Northern Europe seems to be growing, the contribution of Southern European elites to the whole process of integration is also vividly and effectively shown.
Leonardo Morlino, Professor of Political Science, School of Government, LUISS Guido Carli (Roma - Italy) and President, International Political Science Association
Perspectives of National Elites on European Citizenship
A South European View
Edited by
Nicol Conti, Maurizio Cotta and
Pedro Tavares de Almeida
First published 2012
by Routledge
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Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
2012 Taylor & Francis
This book is a reproduction of South European Society and Politics, vol. 15, issue 1. The Publisher requests to those authors who may be citing this book to state, also, the bibliographical details of the special issue on which the book was based.
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN13: 978-0-415-68620-4
Typeset in Baskerville
by Taylor & Francis Books
Disclaimer
The publisher would like to make readers aware that the chapters in this book are referred to as articles as they had been in the special issue. The publisher accepts responsibility for any inconsistencies that may have arisen in the course of preparing this volume for print.
Contents
Nicol Conti, Maurizio Cotta & Pedro Tavares de Almeida
Christophe Roux & Luca Verzichelli
Miguel Jerez Mir, Jos Real Dato & Rafael Vzquez Garca
Diogo Moreira, Joo Pedro Ruivo, Antnio Costa Pinto & Pedro Tavares de Almeida
Roula Nezi, Dimitri A. Sotiropoulos & Panayiota Toka
Nicol Conti
Nico Conti, Maurizio Cotta & Pedro Tavares de Almeida
Nicol Conti is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University Unitelma Sapienza of Rome and Research Fellow at the University of Siena. His main research focus is on parties and the EU He has recently edited Which Europe do Parties Want? A View from France, Italy, Portugal and Spain in Perspectives on European Politics and Society, vol. 11, no. 2, 2010.
Maurizio Cotta is Professor of Political Science at the University of Siena. His main research interests are in the field of political elites and political institutions in Europe. He is the coordinator of the EU integrated project IntUne. His most recent publications include Political Institutions in Italy (Oxford University Press 2007, co-authored with L. Verzichelli) and Democratic Representation in Europe: Diversity, Change and Convergence (Oxford University Press 2007, co-edited with H. Best).
Miguel Jerez Mir is Professor of Political Science and Director of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Granada. He has written extensively on interest groups, political and economic elites in contemporary Spain, and political science as a discipline. His publications include three single authored books, several articles and chapters in edited volumes.
Diogo Moreira is a PhD candidate in Comparative Politics at the Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon. His research interests include the study of political elites, democratic transitions and electoral systems. He has recently co-authored Para a Melhoria da Representao Poltica: A Reforma do Sistema Eleitoral (Sex-tante 2009, with A. Freire and M. Meirinho).
