Distant Voices

This book brings together six countries where arguments about democracy have been central in the processes that have either brought them into or kept them on the outside of the European Union. Its purpose is to examine whether, in a context of Europeanization and at the juncture of crisis, shifts in ideas about national democracy and democracy in the EU have taken place. Turning the focus from the EU center toward its periphery, the book makes an original contribution to the intertwined debates on the Eurozone crisis and democracy. Informed by a constructivist perspective, the book presents in-depth analyses of political party and civil society discourse in Greece, Portugal, Hungary, Turkey, Iceland, and Norway. It will be of interest to students and scholars of history, politics, and European studies. (Series: Trondheim Studies in History)