CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2007
| Author | Szavuj, Eva-Maria |
|---|---|
| Title | EU: WHAT NGOS MAKE OF IT? EXPLAINING THE CREATIVE USAGES OF EUROPE IN THE ROMANIAN AND HUNGARIAN CIVIL SOCIETIES IN ROMANIA |
| Summary | The repercussions of European integration on civil society have received little attention from scholars. This paper fills in this gap by examining the impact of Europeanization on the Romanian civil societies, comparing the impact of the European Union on the Romanian and Hungarian minority’s civil societies. To explore the differences and similarities between the Europeanization of the two civil societies, I conducted in depth case studies of non-governmental organizations and elaborated questionnaires. I have found that regardless of ethnic affiliation, both civil societies show a low level of Europeanization. However, changes in the attention, discourse, activities and objectives of non-governmental organizations are already present. Aspects which differ in the cases of the two civil societies include their values, views of the EU, use of EU law as arguments, sources of funds, partners and affiliations. To explain these dissimilarities I employ the two main approaches of Europeanization. I show that rational choice and constructivist approaches are not mutually exclusive, but might complement each other and taken together can they explain the Europeanization process of civil societies in Romania. Rational choice approaches can enlighten how the integration and the funds available already in the pre-accession period have altered the opportunity structure and the strategies of both civil societies, while constructivist approaches give a good account of how preferences which motivate actors are formed and how the minority status and identity of Hungarian organizations influence their Europeanization process and render it different from the Romanian one. |
| Supervisor | Littoz-Monnet, Annabelle |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2007/szavuj_eva-maria.pdf |
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