Social Rights, Active Citizenship and Governance in the European Union

The volume presents the main outcomes concerning social rights, active citizenship and governance in the European Union as presented at the final conference of the CINEFOGO Network of Excellence (Brussels, March 2009). The classic social question that has faced modern nation states since the 19th century has been coming back – in the changing contexts of globalization and European integration. Researchers have been involved in deepening the understanding of the role of civil society and new forms of governance in Europe and the making of European citizenship. They have been systematically studying political, legal, institutional, and economic conditions as well as different roles of various actors and institutions, the extent of their involvement in decision-making, and how their actions influence the changing human living conditions – including the actual accessibility of social rights to EU citizens. Different aspects of the structural changes to welfare states and the extent and forms of citizens’ participation in addressing public affairs have been placed in the centre of research attention. The authors are social scientists from both the Old and New EU Member States who participated in the CINEFOGO Network of Excellence in 2005-2009.