This paper offers an analytical framework in order to capture the various channels for the involvement of citizens in democratic systems. It introduces the notion of 'opportunity structures for citizens' participation' (OSCPs) and analyses seven dimensions of OSCPs. This analytical framework is...

In the second half of the nineties, a number of EU Member States went through intense public controversies over agro-food biotechnology. These controversies occurred almost synchronously, brought about parallel issue-framings and actor-constellations, led national governments to adopt...

In June 2012 the European Commission received the backing of the member states to launch a visa liberalisation process with Turkey in exchange for a readmission agreement that obliges Ankara to take back illegal immigrants who passed through Turkey as a transit country. This is a remarkable...

A striking feature of the discourses surrounding the negotiations of Economic Partnership Agreements between the EU and developing states is the starkly contrasting pictures given of the role and nature of the EU. The Union is either portrayed as an angel, an actor with altruistic objectives,...