Research Papers

This paper will present the key findings of the policy analysis work package attached to the FP7 project PIDOP. The overall aim of this project is to unpack the Processes Influencing Democratic Ownership and Participation amongst traditionally marginal groups (women, youth, migrants and minorities). Our work package contributes to the overall project by explorin the interaction of different norms/values in shaping political participation and engagement. Using discourse analysis as a methodology and adopting the lenses of interesectionality and Europeanisation, this paper maps the development European policy discourses aimed at increasing the levels of political ownership, engagement and participation of women in the EU. The argument presented in the paper revolves around three key research questions: 1. What mechanisms has the EU adopted to enhance women’s participation in politics? 2. What are the values, biases and norms entrenched within those mechanism? 3. Do those mechanisms reflect the diversity of women’s experiences in Europe? The paper therefore looks at the construction of hegemonic narratives about gender and how these concepts interact with the discourse on European citizenship, this paper makes a substantial contribution to current debates about gender and political participation/representation. Of particular interest for our project is the relationship between gender, migration, culture and ethnicity. The paper therefore seeks to unpack core concepts underpinning social polices ��" European and national - that promote social inclusion, political participation and democratic ownership. The central role of civil society organisations in constructing a European public space/sphere and encouraging the participation of traditionally marginal groups will also be assessed through the analysis of a counter discourse at the European and national level