Research project S1/06/01 (Research action S1)
After the protest actions in Seattle, no major international summit seems to take place without some form of street protest. These protests do not only address the negative consequences of the current globalisation but fundamentally questions the power of international, mainly economical, organisations be it the WTO, the World Bank, the IMF or the EU. However these protests are not only an expression of antiglobalist’s grievances but rather a symptom of a larger legitimacy crisis. A crisis mainly raised by the growing gap between the public and the policymaking level, as we witness a shift of power from the local or national level to the international arena. It is this legitimacy issue that is at the centre of our research. Due to this evolution towards multilevel governance, several international institutions are gaining such extensive policy competences. For the purpose of our study we chose to concentrate our study on two major institutions which are at the centre of the legitimacy issue: the WTO and the EU. These two institutions are thoroughly different but can effectively be placed on a continuum from intergovernmental to supranational, covering both options of governance in international institutions.
Of course this legitimacy issue is a multifaceted problem which can be studied from many different angles as a result we did not confined our study to the antiglobalist cause and protests. In our study we chose to explore three different aspects: at first the role of the media in the legitimacy issue will be addressed, next the public opinion aspect of legitimacy and finally the structure and issues of the antiglobalisation movement.
1. As the gap between public and policymakers grows and the public seems to have little direct access to the international arena, media get to play the central part in informing the public. An extensive analysis of the media report in audiovisual as well as written media should enable us to map the nature and the quantity of the news coverage on the three main subjects of the research: the EU, the WTO and the globalisation issue. Special attention is of course given to media reporting during WTO and EU summits, but will be completed with a longitudinal media study.
2. In addition to the media analysis special attention goes to the perception and particularly the acceptance of the international institutions by the public opinion as a complement to the structural definition of legitimacy which is often used. This will be done through the exploration of existing public opinion research.
3. Finally the antiglobalisation movement itself is examined with respect to their issues, their structure and their action mobilisation. For this purpose different techniques are employed as interviews, analysis of internet sites and survey during antiglobalisation demonstrations.
Publications and conference papers to this day:
Bursens, P. Sinardet, D. (2002) ‘The Anti-Globalisation Movement and the EU: Horizontal Coherence of the Laeken Protesters’, ECPR Pan European Conference on EU Politics (Panel on Civil Society in the Wider Europe), Bordeaux, France, 26-28 September 2002
Bédoyan, I., Van Aelst, P., Walgrave, S. (2002) ‘The Anti- Globalisation Movement: a temporary protest coalition or a new transnational social movement?’, ECPR Pan European Conference on EU Politics (Panel on Civil Society in the Wider Europe), Bordeaux, France, 26-28 September 2002
"Who elected the WTO?" De politieke legitimiteit van internationale organisaties (EU en WTO)
Baetens, Marleen - Bedoyan, Isabelle - Bursens, Peter ... et al Gent : Academia Press, 2004 (PB6098)
