Towards e-ECIs? European Participation by Online Pan-European Mobilization

Abstract

Abstract Using data on 10 pioneer European Citizens' Initiatives (ECIs), this article puts into perspective the traditional obstacles to Euro-mobilization and the potential of e-participation (normalization versus mobilization theses) to shift and/or fade the constraints to the much expected European public sphere (EPS). Taking into account the resources and results of those pan-European ECI campaigns and acknowledging that the internet appears as an indispensable tool to be adopted in the repertoire of action of ECI organizers, the article nevertheless brings critical conclusions about the ability of the internet to significantly modify the traditional constraints met in mobilizing (new) European citizens. By making internet literacy a prerequisite to participation, e-ECIs open up new possibilities but also create new barriers to the EPS and to pan-European participation.