Suchergebnisse

The Europeanisation approach covers a very broad spectrum, and the notion has been blurred by the extensive use that has been made of it by academics. Visier's analysis of Turkish interest groups in Brussels serves to highlight a gap between the currently problematic Turkey-EU membership process and the successful integration of these groups in the EU political arena in Brussels. By focusing on both the socialisation processes of Turkish interest groups' members and the collective trajectories of these groups, this chapter takes a fresh approach to the Europeanisation process. Ultimately, the analysis demonstrates that if we are to understand the role played by of these social actors it is necessary to look beyond institutional relationships between the EU and Turkey and the accession process alone. Research has to take into account national, international and transnational variables and study how they overlap.

The Europeanisation approach covers a very broad spectrum, and the notion has been blurred by the extensive use that has been made of it by academics. Visier's analysis of Turkish interest groups in Brussels serves to highlight a gap between the currently problematic Turkey-EU membership process and the successful integration of these groups in the EU political arena in Brussels. By focusing on both the socialisation processes of Turkish interest groups' members and the collective trajectories of these groups, this chapter takes a fresh approach to the Europeanisation process. Ultimately, the analysis demonstrates that if we are to understand the role played by of these social actors it is necessary to look beyond institutional relationships between the EU and Turkey and the accession process alone. Research has to take into account national, international and transnational variables and study how they overlap.

This article investigates the impact of interest group membership on presidential approval. Data come from the 2006 Cooperative Congressional Election Study, which asked respondents about membership in 11 interest groups. Distinguishing between easy and hard issues, I argue that interest groups will tighten the relationship between issue position and approval for hard issues because of the information that groups provide it members. Analysis looks at interest group effects on five issues: abortion and the Iraq War, both deemed easy; the environment and Social Security Reform, which are harder issues; and stem cell research, which is harder for some. As hypothesized, membership in abortion or veterans groups has no impact on members' approval either directly or through the relevant issues. But for members of environmental and senior groups, the relevant issues are found to have statistically significant impact on approval. And membership in abortion rights groups affects stem cell research. The conclusions put the findings into perspective and discuss directions for future research.