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`Europe is sometimes credited with a `polis,' but not a `demos'. Political integration and economic globalisation cannot diminish local identity and social memories. This fascinating collection of national case studies shows why there will always be a local `demos' located in ecology, economy, and society. But there will never be a transnational `demos', precisely because locality is the basis for meaningful sustainability. Long may it triumph.' Tim O'Riordan, CSERGE, University of East Anglia
'The book offers a refreshing perspective on the diversity of Europe and at the same time, on the interdependence of the policies, economies, and societies of European countries. Going beyond the dichotomies of `good and bad' and `leaders and laggards' in environmental matters, the authors contribute to a different understanding of the North-South divide in the process of European integration.' Angela Liberatore, European Commission, Directorate General for Research
`This is a self-consciously revisionist volume, whose findings are theoretically significant, policy-relevant, and timely. Its insistence on `bringing society back in,' its debunking of the notion of a `Mediterranean syndrome,' its emphasis on developmental `leapfrogging' capacity of late-comers to emerge as leaders in contexts of late modernity, and its systematic attempt to reconceptualize the politics of Europeanization should be carefully listed to students and policy-makers concerned with collective action, Southern Europe, European integration, and environmental politics.' P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, University of Athens
List of contents
EU policy-making, local action, and the emergence of institutions of collective action.- I The Europeanization of Environmental Politics.- 1 Sustainability as a Discursive Device for Mobilizing European Publies.- 2 Sustainability and the North/South Divide.- 3 Sustainable Development - The Formal Or Informal Way?.- 4 Sustainability and Tourism.- II Sustainability from Above and from Below in Southern Europe. Comparative Studies and Country Studies on Collective Action in Southern Europe.- 5 Competing Claims in Local Environmental Conflicts in Southem Europe.- 6 Greek Rural Society and Sustainable Development.- 7 The Ecologist Movement in the Basque Country.- 8 Grassroots Environmental Action in Portugal (1974-1994).- III Sustainability Discourses and the Emergence of Institutions for Collective Action in Southern Europe.- 9 Sustainable Development and the Participation of Environmental NGOs in Spanish Environmental Policy.- 10 Is Spanish Environmental Policy Becoming More Participatory?.- 11 Interaction Between State and Non-state Actors in the Implementation of the CAP Agri-environmental Measures.- 12 Images of Sustainable Development in Italy.- 13 From Common Interest To Partnership.- 14 Non-Govemmental Groups and the State.- 15 Tourism Poliey and Sustainability in Italy, Spain and Greece.- Is There a Mediterranean Syndrome?.
Summary
`Europe is sometimes credited with a `polis,' but not a `demos'. Political integration and economic globalisation cannot diminish local identity and social memories. This fascinating collection of national case studies shows why there will always be a local `demos' located in ecology, economy, and society. But there will never be a transnational `demos', precisely because locality is the basis for meaningful sustainability. Long may it triumph.' Tim O'Riordan, CSERGE, University of East Anglia
'The book offers a refreshing perspective on the diversity of Europe and at the same time, on the interdependence of the policies, economies, and societies of European countries. Going beyond the dichotomies of `good and bad' and `leaders and laggards' in environmental matters, the authors contribute to a different understanding of the North-South divide in the process of European integration.' Angela Liberatore, European Commission, Directorate General for Research
`This is a self-consciously revisionist volume, whose findings are theoretically significant, policy-relevant, and timely. Its insistence on `bringing society back in,' its debunking of the notion of a `Mediterranean syndrome,' its emphasis on developmental `leapfrogging' capacity of late-comers to emerge as leaders in contexts of late modernity, and its systematic attempt to reconceptualize the politics of Europeanization should be carefully listed to students and policy-makers concerned with collective action, Southern Europe, European integration, and environmental politics.' P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, University of Athens
