Multi-level governance is a new learning agenda for state, market and civil society actors to influence the democratic process in Europe. The Network will seek to bridge the gap between the study of citizens’ attitudes and the analysis of outcomes of political institutions. Among others, it addresses

• The challenging of old forms of representation by emerging supra-national governance,
• The role of civil society in responding to the disenchantment with politics,
• Media discourse and participation,
• Civil society organisations as vehicles for advancing democracy.

Multi-level Governance and Organized Civil Society

The Network’s concern with multi-level governance is related to three types of crises. The first is the crisis of politics, which refers to citizens’ disenchantment with politics. Secondly, the crisis of representation which refers to such issues as the dominance of executives and spin-doctors, and finally the crisis of the party system as a vehicle for societal representation. Multi-level governance may represent a new learning agenda for experimenting with establishing new forms of arenas where partners from market, state, and civil society based institutions can influence the democratic proces.

Many European scholars work on the modalities, opportunities, and normative implications of enhancing participation of organized civil society to decision-making. They specifically address the distinctiveness of the new globalised environment where both decision-making authorities and civil society organizations interact across levels of governance in shifting policy networks. Theme three of the CINEFOGO Network aims at bringing together these scholars in order to produce a more collaborative research agenda.

Attention to issues of participation in multi-level policy making, is rooted in the awareness that old forms of representation are in a state of crisis and that emerging supranational forms of governance challenge them ever more directly. European integration and globalisation appear to contribute to the disenchantment of politics or are at least targeted as issues for ‘populist’ mobilization of political malcontents. A stronger input from organized civil society is frequently advocated as a response to the disenchantment with politics. In this context the discussion of trust in public as well as private institutions is crucial. In European countries with a high level of trust in economic and political institutions – the Nordic countries – the level of political engagement and activities in voluntary organisation have been growing, while in countries where the level of trust is low and falling we find declining involvement among citizens in civil society networks and voluntary organisations – Southern Europe.

Some scholars have focussed on the fact that the voters’ numbers are declining in several contexts (while citizens’ participation in civil society activities is growing according to some cross-national indicators) and have pointed to a perception of inefficiency of parliaments and a generalised crisis of the party system. Political parties have often become institutionalised appendices to the state and no longer reflect the richness of views of civil society. In addition, the dislocation of decision-making at supra-national level has also been seen as contributing to a loss of relevance of parliaments. The transfer of important policy areas to the EU level with well-known problems of representation and legitimacy makes it imperative to understand how civil society can effectively operate in an internationalised environment.

The role of civil society varies according to the presuppositions of various traditions in political theory. In elitist theories, citizens are expected to select leaders through elections, and civil society has no general role in the decision-making process. However, as the electoral mechanisms of the EU are perceived as being in a state of crisis, even in the elitist perspective, participation of civil society organizations could be seen as useful. It would constitute a mechanism for alleviating perceptions of crisis. Participatory conceptions of democracy emphasise the need for public commitment and involvement in public affairs. Civil society organisations constitute a way of aggregating preferences that are perceived as alternative to political parties, and have a role in helping advance democracy, as they assure that citizens’ interests are taken into account. From the perspective of deliberative democracy, the role of civil society is to bring disaffected citizens back in touch with politics. From this perspective, the public sphere becomes a crucial mediator between participatory structures and policy-makers.

The CINEFOGO Network includes scholars working on public discourse to help us understand the meaning and scope of participation in societies where media discourse is a paramount mediating factor. How to achieve improved network governance will be the outcome of the integrated activities of teams of sociologists, political scientists and jurists collaborating within the CINEFOGO Network. We will seek to address questions regarding the changing meanings of participation, civil society, and representation at various levels of governance. The often heard assertion that enhancing participation, and even governing outside the state in polycentric and non-hierarchical structures, might lead to better democratic outcomes will be analysed and qualified on the basis of the experience of scholars and policy makers. Whilst scholars working on theme 1 will examine theoretical claims about the individual and cultural backgrounds and impact of participation in civil society and politics, scholars working on theme 3 will strive to bridge the gap between the study of citizens’ attitudes and the analysis of outcomes of political institutions.