European integration and European social groups

1\. Introduction 5 2\. Social Groups and Classes in the Literature on Europe 6 3\. A Needed Analytical Distinction: Europeanization and European Class Formation 7 4\. Data 8 5\. The Structural Basis of Europe‘s Middle Class 10 6\. Identification, Lifestyles, Openness, and Political Values 11 7\. European Integration and Social Segmentation 14 8\. Conclusion 15 Literature 17 Appendix 19This paper connects with a recent and growing interest in the study of the societal impact of European integration and in the distinction of globalization and European integration effects. The paper uses the Eurobarometer study 67.1 to examine two related issues: 1) the segmentation of national social groups into “national” and “European” segments and 2) the contribution of the European integration process to this segmentation. Through statistical analysis, the author argues that there is some segmentation of national social groups and that this segmentation is more advanced at the level of consumer practices than at the level of identification and political attitudes and values. The author also contradicts prevailing beliefs in showing that although European integration underlies changes in the Europeanization of personal networks in general, its impact may have been greater, or at least as great, on the lower classes than on the middle classes. This paper proposes that the main mediating mechanism for this effect is the cheapening of opportunities for travel in Europe

A new society in the making: European integration and European social groups

This paper connects with a recent and growing interest in the study of the societal impact of European integration and in the distinction of globalization and European integration effects. The paper uses the Eurobarometer study 67.1 to examine two related issues: 1) the segmentation of national social groups into “national” and “European” segments and 2) the contribution of the European integration process to this segmentation. Through statistical analysis, I argue that there is some segmentation of national social groups and that this segmentation is more advanced at the level of consumer practices than at the level of identification and political attitudes and values. I also contradict prevailing beliefs in showing that although European integration underlies changes in the Europeanization of personal networks in general, its impact may have been greater, or at least as great, on the lower classes than on the middle classes. I propose that the main mediating mechanism for this effect is the cheapening of opportunities for travel in Europe

Individual and Collective Responses to Crisis: An Analytical Framework for the Study of Social Resilience

This article proposes a sociological approach for the study of social resilience that emphasizes interpretation and the role of networks. After discussing past contributions to the study of social resilience and proposing an alternative analytical framework that builds on Max Weber’s approach to social action, the article illustrates the proposed strategy through a discussion of the acquisition of transnational skills as a strategy of social resilience. Available empirical evidence shows indeed that fluency in foreign languages works both a resilience strategy and a vehicle toward the emergence of an European demo

Are Cross-Border Practices a Threat to Democratic Participation among EU Citizens?

Regional integration and the transportation and communications revolutions are changing the way individuals relate to place through increasing the opportunity for transnational movements, forming transnational bonds between individuals, and sustaining ties to the home country among those who migrate. Today, it is possible to live in a place physically while having one’s mind and consciousness elsewhere. Most significantly, EUCROSS findings demonstrate that EU citizens are engaged in a wider and more complex array of cross-border activities than most people believe (Salamonska et. al. 2013). If this process has a significant impact on a large number of people, it may be consequential for the social cohesion in actual physical locations—i.e. towns, cities or countries—and the quality of democracy. Do these cross-border activities jeopardize democracy by way of weakening incentives to participate in elections? Does the EU, by promoting an open and borderless society, also weakens itself in political terms? This policy brief addresses these questions by comparing political engagement of Europeans who lead transnational lives with those who do not. In doing so, it shows that individuals who lead more transnational lives participate at least as much in politics as those who are more anchored in their national societies

Gestión de la comunicación en la sociedad del siglo XXI: Un ‘arma’ sutil para una globalización bajo sospecha

Communication Management involves a hard to understand social commitment at the beginning of the XXI Century as it may bring back dignity to the “Globalization” concept, a concept wrongly used for some actors whose intentions were oriented to gain political, economical or social influence and power over society, in an opposite direction to the original that was pretended by the purest globalization movement. The current reflexion expresses how the different closest actors to Power play in order to control communication and information. They are actors living in post materialist societies and running in a contradictory way for the pre industrial societies expectances and hopes.La gestión de la comunicación  tiene un complicado cometido social en el inicio del siglo XXI, en la medida en que puede devolver la dignidad al concepto de “globalización”, un concepto adulterado por  quienes lo han utilizado indebidamente para defender actuaciones políticas, económicas y sociales cuyos fines están frecuentemente orientados, paradójicamente, en dirección opuesta al sentido ideal y positivo de dicho concepto. La siguiente reflexión expone cómo los agentes próximos al núcleo del poder ejercen ese control sobre la comunicación y la información desde las culturas y sociedades post materialistas, en contradicción con las expectativas de las sociedades pre industriales