Introduction

Civil society has become of prime interest for students and scholars of international politics and governance. The prominence of civil society is related to the constructivist and normative turn in the study of International Relations (IR). A new generation of IR scholars has recognised that state actors are no longer the sole players in international politics. Power is increasingly embedded in international regimes, in which state and non-state actors cooperate under the umbrella of international organisations and law. The new emphasis is on the role of norms and global discourses (like justice, peace or economic sustainability) in shaping state actors' preferences and behaviour. Especially civil society organisations have stepped forward as the normative backbone of the emerging global order. There are numerous examples of how the entry of non-state actors as participants in the international political arena has changed the agenda of international politics addressing social concerns, mediating conflicts and promoting development and democracy (Castells 2008; Glasius et al. 2003; Keane 2003).

In Europe, this research agenda of civil society as the stabiliser of the international order can be narrowed down by reference to the unique setting of political authority that is constituted by the European Union (EU). A new politics of civil society has come to the fore in the wake of the spectacular changes that the European Union has experienced over the past decade (Liebert and Trenz 2010).