Achieving a Representative Democracy in Europe

2022 ◽  
pp. 19-36
Author(s):  
Rubén Rivas-de-Roca ◽  
Mar García-Gordillo
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Deliberative Democracy ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Public Communication ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Public Spheres ◽  
European Public

The concept of public spheres is based on the classic notion of deliberative democracy. The emergence of a European Public Sphere (EPS) at the European Union (EU) level has been widely discussed in the literature. However, the deliberative quality of this sphere is questioned because of its weak connection with citizens. This chapter explores how recent research addresses the EPS. Three categories are defined: (1) political and public communication of the EU, (2) citizen participation through technologies, and (3) the growing politicization and polarization of the European project. The methods in use, as well as remaining challenges in research, are also analyzed. This study contributes to discussions on the future of EU democracy, arguing that politicization and the interrelation of digital platforms and legacy media may enhance a true public discussion in Europe.

scholarly journals Proposal for the Evaluation of Open Data Portals

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. e10194
Author(s):  
Camila Andrea Herrera-Melo ◽  
Juan Sebastián González Sanabria
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Costa Rica ◽  
Data Quality ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
Open Data ◽  
Public Domain ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Evaluation Of Data

The provision of portals that serve as a source of access and availability of public domain data is part of the adoption of public policies that some government entities have implemented in response to the establishment of an open, transparent, multidirectional, collaborative and focused on citizen participation government, both in monitoring and in making public decisions. However, the publication of this data must meet certain characteristics to be considered open and of quality. For this reason, studies arise that focus on the approach of methodologies and indicators that measure the quality of the portals and their data. For the aim of this paper, the search of referential sources of the last six years regarding the evaluation of data quality and open data portals in Spain, Brazil, Costa Rica, Taiwan and the European Union was carried out with the objective of gathering the necessary inputs for the approach of the methodology presented in the document.

scholarly journals Critical perspectives on migration in discourse and communication: An introduction

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitris Serafis ◽  
Jolanta Drzewiecka ◽  
Sara Greco
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Debt Crisis ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Public Sphere ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
European Public ◽  
The Media

While these lines were written, Taliban were conquering Afghanistan, establishing a regime of terror in the country, while concurrently provoking a wide conflict in the Western public sphere about responsibilities and consequences of this situation. More specifically, Europe witnesses a racist and xenophobic wave of discourses against a new possible escape of refugees toward Europe; presently such discourses abound in politics and the media. It is more than a truism nowadays that, in crisis-stricken Europe, there is an increasing politicization of migration, which takes place against the background and mutual overlapping of diverse crises. More specifically, migration has become a focal and quite polarizing issue in the European public sphere especially since the numbers of refugees, escaping from conflict territories of the Middle East (e. g., Syria), crossing the Mediterranean, dramatically increased starting in 2014 (Bevelander & Wodak, 2019a). The so-called “refugee crisis,” as this movement was portrayed by mainstream media and powerful political figures in Europe (Krzyżanowski, Triandafyllidou, & Wodak, 2018), contributed to social and economic tensions (such as the Eurozone “debt crisis”) that took place in the European Union and played into Brexit that followed.

Beyond the Bosphorus?

2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Wimmel
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
The Other ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Public Spheres ◽  
The One ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Interpretation Patterns ◽  
The Eu

This article examines the impact of national borders on public discourses, based on a case study of the struggle surrounding Turkey’s application to join the European Union (EU). Comparing opinions, reasons and interpretation patterns in quality press commentaries about enlarging the EU beyond the Bosphorus, the article confirms the importance and robustness of national cleavages between the German and the French public spheres on the one hand and the British public sphere on the other. Whereas Turkish membership was predominantly rejected on the continent, the British commentators strongly and almost unanimously supported Ankara’s request. These similarities and divergences, I argue, are first and foremost the result of competing visions of Europe’s finality, especially regarding various constitutional ideas and cultural principles. Against this background, the Turkey question was partly exploited as an instrument to advance or to suppress different concepts on the future of European integration.

scholarly journals Islam's increased visibility in the European public sphere

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 68-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Didem Doganyilmaz Duman
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
The Political ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
European Public Sphere ◽  
European Public

It is believed that the massive flow of refugees and dramatically increased asylum applications from Muslim societies to member countries of the European Union will cause significant change in the demographic characteristics of those countries. Although the presence of Muslims is not a recent phenomenon in Europe, their increased visibility has become once again a dominant political discourse for right-wing political parties. The important question is whether the Muslim presence has become a component of the post-truth politics of the political leaders of these parties, or whether it constitutes a real threat to European society. Does the European Union, then, face a real crisis? If so, what is the nature of the crisis – is it a refugee crisis, an identity crisis, or even worse, is it a crisis of tolerance? This paper analyses the political atmosphere and its effects on society in terms of an increased visibility of Muslims and Islamic symbols in the European public sphere in order to answer those questions.

scholarly journals Sémiotique de la politique et systèmes non verbaux: la relation médias-politiciens grecs au temps de la crise economique

2021 ◽  
Vol 06 (02) ◽  
pp. 117-139
Author(s):  
Evangelos Kourdis
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Media Culture ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Dress Code ◽  
Social Image ◽  
European Public ◽  
Semiotic Approach ◽  
Radical Left

During the Greek economic crisis, the European media engaged in a series of press articles, television reports, and press cartoons particularly critical of the behavior of the contemporary Greek and the quality of the politicians who govern him. This attitude intensified during the radical left government of the SYRIZA party from January to August 2015. In this period, the European media engaged in a semiotic devaluation, an unprecedented deconstruction of Greek politicians’ social image of the SYRIZA party’s radical left government. The European Union authorities recorded this deconstruction at the level of the three semiotic codes: that of gesture, that of the dress code, and that of proxemics. This study proposes to analyze in a semiotic approach these choices expressed through polysemiotic texts likely to interpret a conscious manipulation of European public opinion, also introducing uses previously unknown in the political and media culture of Europe.

Explaining Citizens’ Participation in a Transnational European Public Sphere

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 667-691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jürgen Gerhards ◽  
Silke Hans
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Professional Status ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Public Spheres ◽  
Small Minority ◽  
Education Professional ◽  
European Public ◽  
Foreign Media ◽  
The Individual

Globalization and Europeanization processes have led to an increasing public sphere deficit. This deficit can be addressed by a transnationalization of the individual countries’ national public spheres. This requires a perception of discussions in other national public spheres, a condition which is met if citizens of a nation-state follow reporting of issues in other countries. Using Eurobarometer surveys, we examine the extent to which citizens of 27 European countries engage with foreign media and the factors that determine participation in a transnational public sphere. Only a small minority of EU citizens engage with foreign media, and there are considerable differences between countries and citizens. Using multilevel techniques we find that besides other factors education, professional status and multilingualism play a crucial role in explaining participation in a transnational public sphere, resources which are distributed very unevenly among citizens. Thus, participation in a transnational public sphere is an issue of social inequality.

Ophthalmologist Attitudes regarding Fixed Combination Treatment for Glaucoma in the European Union

2009 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 588-593 ◽  
Author(s):  
William C. Stewart ◽  
Bonnie Kruft ◽  
Lindsay A. Nelson ◽  
Jeanette A. Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
European Union ◽  
Intraocular Pressure ◽  
Electronic Mail ◽  
Fixed Combination ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Perceived Safety ◽  
Popular Method ◽  
First Choice

Purpose To survey ophthalmologists in the European Union to determine their fixed combination (FC) preferences. Methods A multiple-choice survey was sent to randomly chosen ophthalmologists throughout the European Union and bordering countries by electronic mail delivery. Ophthalmologists were resent the survey on two more occasions if no response was obtained. Results In total, 50 surveys were received from 530 distributed (9.4% response) from 16 countries. More ophthalmologists prescribed an FC as second (80%) or third choice (64%) therapy than first choice (30%, p=0.0036). As first (p<0.0001) and third choice (p=0.011), the dorzolamide/timolol FC was most commonly prescribed, while as second choice the latanoprost/timolol FC (p<0.0001) was most popular. Overall, 98% (49/50) of doctors believed FC therapy improved patient care most often by better compliance (n=49) and quality of life (n=48, p<0.0001). Most ophthalmologists believed that there was a difference in efficacy between the FC products (32/50, 64%) with the most effective being the bimatoprost/timolol FC (n=12, 24%, p=0.029). However, fewer ophthalmologists perceived safety differences between the products (34/50, 68%). For prostaglandins, dosing time was suggested in the morning by 18 (36%) ophthalmologists and in the evening by 24 (48%) (p=0.35). Conclusions FCs in the European Union are a potentially popular method to reduce intraocular pressure, being prescribed most commonly as second or third choice therapy. The perceived advantages to FC therapy are greater compliance to the medicine and improved patient quality of life.

scholarly journals Mobile therapeutic attention for treatment-resistant schizophrenia (m-RESIST): a prospective multicentre feasibility study protocol in patients and their caregivers

BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. e021346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Alonso-Solís ◽  
Katya Rubinstein ◽  
Iluminada Corripio ◽  
Erika Jaaskelainen ◽  
Annika Seppälä ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
European Union ◽  
Feasibility Study ◽  
Study Protocol ◽  
Preliminary Data ◽  
Perceived Quality ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Treatment Resistant ◽  
Perceived Quality Of Life

IntroductionTreatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) is a severe form of schizophrenia. In the European Union, approximately 40% of people with schizophrenia have TRS. Factors such as the persistence of positive symptoms or higher risk of comorbidities leave clinicians with a complex scenario when treating these patients. Intervention strategies based on mHealth have demonstrated their ability to support and promote self-management-based strategies. Mobile therapeutic attention for treatment-resistant schizophrenia(m-RESIST), an innovative mHealth solution based on novel technology and offering high modular and flexible functioning, has been developed specifically for patients with TRS and their caregivers. As intervention in TRS is a challenge, it is necessary to perform a feasibility study before the cost-effectiveness testing stage.Methods and analysisThis manuscript describes the protocol for a prospective multicentre feasibility study in 45 patients with TRS and their caregivers who will be attended in the public health system of three localities: Hospital Santa Creu Sant Pau (Spain), Semmelweis University (Hungary) and Gertner Institute & Sheba Medical Center (Israel). The primary aim is to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of the m-RESIST solution, configured by three mHealth tools: an app, wearable and a web-based platform. The solution collects data about acceptability, usability and satisfaction, together with preliminary data on perceived quality of life, symptoms and economic variables. The secondary aim is to collect preliminary data on perceived quality of life, symptoms and economic variables.Ethics and disseminationThis study protocol, funded by the Horizon 2020 Programme of the European Union, has the approval of the ethics committees of the participating institutions. Participants will be fully informed of the purpose and procedures of the study, and signed inform consents will be obtained. The results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented in scientific conferences to ensure widespread dissemination.Trial registration numberNCT03064776; Pre-results.

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