The Search for EU Alliances: An Externalization of Protest?

Abstract

The use of the European level as an arena for mobilization oriented to modifying national policies—that is, what we called Europeanization by externalization—is at the core of chapter 3 that addresses the subjective perspectives of collective actors on the importance of Europe and European integration for their strategic choices; their use of insider versus outsider strategies in dealing with European issues; their communication strategies as well as their relations with the European institutions. The picture emerging from interviews with representatives of SMOs and NGOs indicates a high level of attention to Europe, which translates into transnational networking and the use of multiple strategies to target EU institutions. Moreover, the interviewees stress changes in their communication and mobilization strategies as related to the process of European integration. Additionally, network analysis allows to compare density of collaboration and conflict, specifying the prevalent logic of relations within each policy domain, as well as the cleavages around which the debate on Europe is structured and which can influence the path of Europeanization of national collective actors.