In the present context of intensifying competition between the major trading economies and potentially game-changing technological developments, the European Union is generally seen as the weaker party. Lacking the ‘hard power’ derived from military capabilities, it has laid claim to a...

Dahrendorf´s Quandary, an early formulation of the Rodrik Trilemma, stipulates that maintaining economic competitiveness requires countries either to adopt measures detrimental to the cohesion of civil society, or to restrict civil liberties and political participation. The global financial and...

In recent years, the third or voluntary sector has become more important for ‘Europe’, as indicated by the 1997 Communication of the European Commission and various Declarations attached to the EU Treaties. These official statements not only suggest greater political interest in the third...