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Representation in the EU: Acting Multilevel Democracy
Start date: Sep 1, 2015, End date: Aug 31, 2018 PROJECT  FINISHED 

The proposed EUReAct module aims to enhance and expand the teaching offer on the EU at the University of Siena focusing on the core issue of representation and democracy in a multilevel scenario.In times of crisis and austerity, conflicting ways of representing Europe and its legitimacy as supranational governance have increasingly attracted the attention of public opinion, as the polarised results of 2014 European Parliament election revealed. Moreover, the EU has also acquired a great and unprecedented domestic visibility as an actor directly involved in overcoming economic distress in some member states.Due to the mounting politicisation of Europe and the Euro-criticism fuelled by a rising mistrust of public opinion, the topic of EU democratic legitimacy and accountability, in the balance amongst supranational integration, national sovereignty and local autonomy, highly captures the interest of students, even those not particularly motivated to get involved in the study of EU bureaucracy or sectorial issues.EUReAct wants to address to a broad spectrum of learners and citizens, bringing multifaceted and empirical-oriented knowledge about one of the most critical and necessary element in the construction of a unitary Europe, that is political representation. In particular, the following thematic areas are focused: 1) Modes of democratic representation in the EU; 2) Elites’ attitudes towards the EU and multilevel career patterns; 3) EU policy frames in parliamentary debates; 4) Mass publics’ conceptions of the EU and European citizenship.Lectures, seminars and laboratory sessions are organized to foster debate, information exchange, as well as the development of ideas among professors, young researchers, students and policy makers. Such an interactive teaching style is enriched by events and deliverables intended to activate a larger public, citizens and professionals. By experiential learning EUReAct pursues a deeper awareness about EU democratic polity making.

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