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Democracy, Social Resources and Political Power in the European Union

Niilo Kauppi author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Manchester University Press

Published:31st Aug '13

Should be back in stock very soon

Democracy, Social Resources and Political Power in the European Union cover

In this book, available at last in paperback, Kauppi develops a structural constructivist theory of the European Union and critically analyses, through French and Finnish empirical cases, the political practices that maintain the Union's 'democratic deficit'.

Kauppi conceptualises the European Union as both an arena for political contention and a nascent political order. In this evolving, multi-levelled European political field, individuals and groups construct material and symbolic structures of political power, grounded in a variety of social resources such as nationality, culture, and gender.
The author shows how the dominance of both executive political resources and domestic political cultures has prevented the development of European democracy. Supranational executive networks have become more autonomous, reinforcing the dominance of the resources they control. At the same time, national political cultures condition the political status of elected institutions such as the European parliament.

The book is particularly suited for undergraduate and graduate students in the fields of European Politics, European Union Studies and International Relations.

...recommends the work to those working with EU data, policy challenges, and studies of democracy. -- .

ISBN: 9780719070594

Dimensions: 234mm x 156mm x 12mm

Weight: 322g

224 pages