Over the last twenty years, the role of national parliaments in EU affairs has gained considerable academic attention. Much of the literature, however, has focused on parliamentary scrutiny and control in EU affairs. What tends to be generally overlooked is that the parliamentary communication function is at least as important in EU politics as the control function. Democratic legitimacy depends on a vibrant public debate on political solutions and alternatives to allow citizens to make informed political (electoral) choices and to exercise democratic control. Within the EU, it is precisely the opacity of policy-making processes and the lack of public discourse that have been defined as core problems of democratic legitimacy. Here, parliaments have the potential to provide an ideal arena for the deliberation of important European issues and thus to help overcome the much-lamented distance between European policy processes and the citizens. Yet, despite parliaments' central relevance for the legitimacy of European politics, the parliamentary communication function remains so far under researched. The volume aims at filling this gap by providing both qualitative and quantitative comparative data on various communication efforts by national parliaments. This book was originally published as a special issue in the Journal of Legislative Studies.

Over the last twenty years, the role of national parliaments in EU affairs has gained considerable academic attention. Much of the literature, however, has focused on parliamentary scrutiny and control in EU affairs. What tends to be generally overlooked is that the parliamentary communication function is at least as important in EU politics as the control function. Democratic legitimacy depends on a vibrant public debate on political solutions and alternatives to allow citizens to make informed political (electoral) choices and to exercise democratic control. Within the EU, it is precisely the opacity of policy-making processes and the lack of public discourse that have been defined as core problems of democratic legitimacy. Here, parliaments have the potential to provide an ideal arena for the deliberation of important European issues and thus to help overcome the much-lamented distance between European policy processes and the citizens. Yet, despite parliaments' central relevance for the legitimacy of European politics, the parliamentary communication function remains so far under researched. The volume aims at filling this gap by providing both qualitative and quantitative comparative data on various communication efforts by national parliaments. This book was originally published as a special issue in the Journal of Legislative Studies.

Addresses a critical analysis of major media policies in the European Union and Council of Europe at the period of profound changes affecting both media environments and use, as well as the logic of media policy-making and reconfiguration of traditional regulatory models. The analytical problem-related approach seems to better reflect a media policy process as an interrelated part of European integration, formation of European citizenship, and exercise of communication rights within the European communicative space. The question of normative expectations is to be compared in this case with media policy rationales, mechanisms of implementation (transposing rules from EU to national levels), and outcomes.

Since the Treaty of the European Union was ratified in 1993, the European Union has become an important factor in an ever-increasing number of regimes of pooled sovereignty. This Handbook seeks to present a valuable guide to this new and unique system in the twenty-first century, allowing readers to obtain a better understanding of the emerging multilevel European governance system that links national polities to Europe and the global community. Adopting a pan-European approach, this Handbook brings together the work of leading international academics to cover a wide range of topics such as: the historical and theoretical background the political systems and institutions of both the EU and its individual member nations political parties and party systems political elites civil society and social movements in European politics the political economy of Europe public administration and policy-making external policies of the EU. This is an invaluable and comprehensive resource for students, scholars, researchers and practitioners of the European Union, European politics and comparative politics.

“This book is a timely reminder of the ties that join Russia and the European Union and the opportunities that still exist to improve a troubled relationship. The book does not shy away from the difficulties that the relationship currently faces, but seeks to find opportunities in these obstacles that could lead to improvements. With the voice of Russian scholars fully audible in this excellent collection of essays, this book provides an excellent opportunities for English-speaking audiences to learn more about this complex relationship.”Victor Bulmer-Thomas, Chatham House, UK “The thinking of Evgeny Pashentsev in this volume presents an enlightening analysis and synthesis of the integration of the political, social, cultural and technological advances around the globe with respect to their impact on EU-Russia relations. His chapters are a must read for both scholars and strategic consultants who seek to understand the future of the paradigm shift taking place in these countries.”Bruce I. Newman, DePaul University, USA, and Founding Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Political Marketing In this book the international team of EU, Russian and US researchers focus on the dangerous challenges of the current unstable international equilibrium and opportunities of the breakthrough for a better future. Eight chapters engage with a variety of issues, ranging from general tendencies and controversies in EU–Russia strategic communication and its political and economic aspects to reputation management of Russian companies in the EU and the psychological aspect of US sanctions in EU-Russia relations. Analyzing the security dimension, the authors focus on the geopolitical threats, opportunities and risks of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, cyborgization and human genetics.

This book examines and investigates the legitimacy of the European Union by acknowledging the importance of variation across actors, institutions, audiences, and context. Case studies reveal how different actors have contributed to the politics of (re)legitimating the European Union in response to multiple recent problems in European integration. The case studies look specifically at stakeholder interests, social groups, officials, judges, the media and other actors external to the Union. With this, the book develops a better understanding of how the politics of legitimating the Union are actor-dependent, context-dependent and problem-dependent. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of European integration, as well as those interested in legitimacy and democracy beyond the state from a point of view of political science, political sociology and the social sciences more broadly.

Though crises arise organically in all political systems, this volume treats the current challenges facing the EU as a unique situation. It takes stock of its losses, gains, and opportunities and what constitutes a viable solution to the EU’s current predicament. By envisioning the EU as an evolving rather than static body, this collection zeroes in on the conceptual weaknesses that destabilized the EU and the factors that will help the organization rethink its place and purpose. This book clarifies aspects of EU parliamentarism within the context of the unfolding crisis and addresses political cohesion and institutional integration. It ultimately stresses the role of perception and image on the future of the EU’s social and political integration.