Public authorities from all levels of government increasingly turn to Citizens' Assemblies, Juries, Panels and other representative deliberative processes to tackle complex policy problems ranging from climate change to infrastructure investment decisions. They convene groups of people representing a wide cross-section of society for at least one full day – and often much longer – to learn, deliberate, and develop collective recommendations that consider the complexities and compromises required for solving multifaceted public issues.

An exploration and analysis of the regulation and practices of citizens' initiatives in eleven European democracies and the EU. The contributors to this volume shed light on how citizens' initiatives influence patterns of political agenda-setting in representative democracies and how they can contribute to participatory democracy.

With the European Citizens' Initiative (Article 11.4. in the new Lisbon Treaty of the European Union), the region enters new territory for modern democracy. For the first time, the principle of representative democracy, based on both indirect and direct democracy, will become a political practice on the transnational level. However, such a historic step, which is closely watched by observers from across the globe, raises many questions regarding the future provisions (implementation and regulation), the opportunities (the attitude by EU institutions and citizens groups alike), and the infrastructure (the support and assistance arrangements). This book offers an entry point into the new and exciting democratic territory of the European Citizens' Initiative, and it outlines the cornerstones and key features of both the procedure to be adapted by the EU in 2010 and the future use of the new tool from 2011.

This volume offers a profoundly new interpretation of the impact of modern diasporas on democracy, challenging the orthodox understanding that ties these two concepts to a bounded form of territory. Considering democracy and diaspora through a deterritorialised lens, it takes the post-Euromaidan Ukraine as a central case study to show how modern diasporas are actively involved in shaping democracy from a distance, and through their political activity are becoming increasingly democratised themselves. An examination of how power-sharing democracies function beyond the territorial state, Democracy, Diaspora, Territory: Europe and Cross-Border Politics compels us to reassess what we mean by democracy and diaspora today, and why we need to focus on the deterritorialised dimensions of these phenomena if we are to adequately address the crises confronting numerous democracies. As such, it will appeal to scholars of sociology and politics with interests in migration and diaspora, political theory, citizenship and democracy.

Modern direct democracy has become an essential element of political life in many countries in Europe and worldwide. The initiative and referendum process offers extra channels for citizen participation and thus represents an important supplementary institution in modern democracies. This third volume of the series Direct Democracy in Modern Europe focuses on direct-democratic decisions on minority affairs. The main question is whether direct democracy tends towards a domination of the majority over a minority, producing new conflicts, or whether, how, and under what conditions it helps to solve problems in complex societies and leads to lasting solutions to political disputes. This volume includes articles by specialist researchers on - historical experiences of direct-democratic decisions on territorial conflicts; - theoretical considerations on direct democracy and minorities; - case studies on popular votes concerning minority issues; - several country case studies; - the role of the media in direct-democratic campaigns on minority affairs; - the potential of transnational direct democracy.

Amid widespread awareness and discussion of “the democratic deficit” and “shrinking civil space,” the role of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) becomes increasingly important. Yet the precise legal status of such bodies is ill-defined. Here, for the first time, is a thorough commentary and analysis of the position of NGOs and European civil society in the European Union (EU) constitutional system, bringing to the fore existing and desirable means of public participation in EU lawmaking. Recognizing that NGOs have historically been designed to meet the ends of civil society, the analysis focuses on the following topics and issues: means in EU law of advocating for the collective interests of civil society; unofficial means of influencing the EU institutions; access to documents and the European Citizens’ Initiative as means of exerting pressure on EU legislation; relations between the EU institutions and NGOs, including lobbying activities; bringing actions in the common good before courts and other institutions; the special role of NGOs in environmental protection; complaints to the Commission and the European Ombudsman; EU funding for NGOs; and transboundary philanthropy. Drawing on a broad spectrum of sources of law, including CJEU case law and relevant legal literature, the book offers insightful proposals leading to the democratization of the EU’s internal procedures that will allow enhanced cooperation of civil society representatives across national borders. In its thorough examination of legal tools that can respond to the “democratic deficit,” this book makes a distinctive contribution to the public debate on the future of the European Union, especially in the context of emerging threats to further integration. It will prove of great value not only to civil activists, academics and policymakers but also to everyone interested in European integration and affordance for social participation.