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The Impact of the Global Crisis on Organized Civil Society at EU Level and in Member States

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Europe’s Prolonged Crisis

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in European Political Sociology ((PSEPS))

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Abstract

This chapter argues that the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermaths had a restructuring impact on EU-level civil society organizations (CSOs). It focuses on the European level. However, unlike much of the literature on EU-level civil society, it does not conceptualize and explain the dynamics of European Union (EU) groups in relative isolation from forces at work in member states. It points to the generalized impact of the crisis on the entire structure of EU governance and how the crisis affected the ability of organized civil society to achieve some of the key roles it sets for itself and which the EU acknowledges and welcomes. It is argued that the consequences of this restructuring are generally negative for vulnerable sectors of the population.

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© 2015 Carlo Ruzza

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Ruzza, C. (2015). The Impact of the Global Crisis on Organized Civil Society at EU Level and in Member States. In: Trenz, HJ., Ruzza, C., Guiraudon, V. (eds) Europe’s Prolonged Crisis. Palgrave Studies in European Political Sociology. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137493675_9

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