TY - JOUR
T1 - A European Civil Society Elite?
T2 - Analysing Capital and Drama at the European Economic and Social Committee
AU - Uhlin, Anders
AU - Arvidson, Malin
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Contributing to research on civil society elites in the EU context, this articlefocuses on the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). It exploreswho the main actors are, what roles they play, and what resources they use,value, and compete for in this arena. The theoretical starting points aregrounded in Bourdieu’s notions of field and capital and a Goffmanesqueapproach to drama. Based on semi-structured interviews with EESC membersand administrators, observations at EESC meetings, and document analysis,the study explores the types of capital linked to different actors and roles,stages, and scripts in the EESC field. The most valued capital across EESCstages are social capital in the form of personal networks, and cultural capitalin the form of negotiation skills and issue-specific knowledge. Actors aresupposed to follow a script of being pro-European, representing organisedcivil society in Europe, and aiming at consensus. Being active at the EESCstages, at least in leading roles, gives actors a kind of EESC-specific capital inthe form of access to influential EU decision-makers.
AB - Contributing to research on civil society elites in the EU context, this articlefocuses on the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). It exploreswho the main actors are, what roles they play, and what resources they use,value, and compete for in this arena. The theoretical starting points aregrounded in Bourdieu’s notions of field and capital and a Goffmanesqueapproach to drama. Based on semi-structured interviews with EESC membersand administrators, observations at EESC meetings, and document analysis,the study explores the types of capital linked to different actors and roles,stages, and scripts in the EESC field. The most valued capital across EESCstages are social capital in the form of personal networks, and cultural capitalin the form of negotiation skills and issue-specific knowledge. Actors aresupposed to follow a script of being pro-European, representing organisedcivil society in Europe, and aiming at consensus. Being active at the EESCstages, at least in leading roles, gives actors a kind of EESC-specific capital inthe form of access to influential EU decision-makers.
KW - Bourdieu
KW - Goffman
KW - civil society elite
KW - EESC
KW - EU
U2 - 10.1080/14616696.2022.2076893
DO - 10.1080/14616696.2022.2076893
M3 - Article
SN - 1461-6696
VL - 25
SP - 87
EP - 106
JO - European Societies
JF - European Societies
IS - 1
ER -