Expertisation and Democracy in Europe provides a much-needed account of the role and re-organisation of expertise and expert knowledge in Europe and the European Union in a broad range of policy spheres, contributing to the debate triggered by the recent crises. It brings novel perspectives to debates on technocracy and our understanding of the relations between knowledge, experts and democracy. The book explores and assesses new and old linkages between knowledge, expertise and democracy, and expands and deepens the current debates by addressing questions such as: What is the role of expertise in Europe? How is knowledge of different kinds embedded in and decisive for democratic practice in contemporary democracies? How are we to assess recent transformations of the expert-citizens and government-civil society relationships from the perspective of democracy, and which paths are viable in the years to come? Finally, the book engages with and gives flesh to the notion of expertisation not only as a broad political and societal diagnosis, but also as a multidimensional and deeply contested process that enfolds in concrete practices and institutional settings. This text will be of key interest to scholars and students of European studies, European and European Union politics, democracy, public policy, international relations, sociology, gender studies and media studies.

Expertisation and Democracy in Europe provides a much-needed account of the role and re-organisation of expertise and expert knowledge in Europe and the European Union in a broad range of policy spheres, contributing to the debate triggered by the recent crises. It brings novel perspectives to debates on technocracy and our understanding of the relations between knowledge, experts and democracy. The book explores and assesses new and old linkages between knowledge, expertise and democracy, and expands and deepens the current debates by addressing questions such as: What is the role of expertise in Europe? How is knowledge of different kinds embedded in and decisive for democratic practice in contemporary democracies? How are we to assess recent transformations of the expert-citizens and government-civil society relationships from the perspective of democracy, and which paths are viable in the years to come? Finally, the book engages with and gives flesh to the notion of expertisation not only as a broad political and societal diagnosis, but also as a multidimensional and deeply contested process that enfolds in concrete practices and institutional settings. This text will be of key interest to scholars and students of European studies, European and European Union politics, democracy, public policy, international relations, sociology, gender studies and media studies.

In the years after the breakthrough events of 1989, the concept of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) came to be widely used as a synonym for the group of ten countries from the former Eastern Bloc aspiring to EU membership. This book is an attempt to demonstrate and assess the changes resulting from the EU enlargements of 2004 and 2007 and European integration processes, identifying both the similarities and the differences in the countries of the region.This volume is addressed to those interested in Central and Eastern Europe. It has two main aims: first, to present the recent alterations in the region resulting from the processes of European integration; second, to offer an account of the process of Europeanisation in the countries occurring after accession to the EU that goes beyond just conditionality mechanisms. The collection also attempts to reflect on and contribute to the discussion on how the changes taking place in CEE influence theorisation on Europeanisation -- a concept initially constructed in order to tackle the changes taking place in response to the processes of European integration in the old member states.The book is divided into four parts, each concentrating on an area where the changes seem to be most profound and most interesting from the point of view of theorising on the impact of the European integration processes: democratic consolidation in the region, collective identity construction, functioning of civil society and studies on foreign policy and international relations.