Prelims

Half Title Page

COLLECTIVE ACTION AND CIVIL SOCIETY

Title Page

COLLECTIVE ACTION AND CIVIL SOCIETY

Disability Advocacy in EU Decision-Making

BY

CLAUDIA HARRIS COVENEY

University of Leeds, UK

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Emerald Publishing, Floor 5, Northspring, 21-23 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL.

First edition 2024

Copyright © 2024 Claudia Harris Coveney.

Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited.

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-83549-531-5 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-83549-530-8 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-83549-532-2 (Epub)

Contents

Foreword

It is a great pleasure to introduce this book, which draws on evidence from disability movements and campaigns to reveal how civil society can challenge and change the course of policy making. It draws on extensive and detailed research into the dynamics of disability activism within the European Union (EU) and sheds light on the interplay between social movements and governance structures. The focus is both timely and significant, examining how activists have navigated a changing political landscape to advocate for recognition, rights and legislative change.

It explores how the EU became a key arena for policy engagement with civil society, and for disability advocacy in particular. It shows how disabled people and their organisations advanced their cause through collective action by identifying, and taking advantage of, strategic opportunities. The analysis of campaigns, co-ordinated by the European Disability Forum, reveals the successes and the challenges in influencing EU-level decision-making.

The book offers a nuanced understanding of how formalised advocacy coalitions provide civil society with platforms for new kinds of policy advocacy while sometimes constraining the scope of their more radical claims for social change. In this way, it highlights both the achievements of disability movements and the advocacy constraints of civil society structures that become entwined with institutions of governance.

One of the most impactful contributions of this research was the development of a collective action framework for future campaigns led by disabled people’s organisations. This is a testament to the author’s commitment to producing research that is not only academically rigorous but also practically valuable for the policy communities with which it engaged.

This is an important book that offers a deeper understanding of the interplay between civil society, social movements and governance. Its insights are relevant not only for scholars and activists within the disability community but for anyone interested in the broader dynamics of social movements and political advocacy.

It has been a pleasure to see this work come to fruition and to have played a role in supporting it. I hope it will be widely read and provide a stimulus for further research and for renewed collective action on disability equality towards a more inclusive society for all.

Mark Priestley

Professor Emeritus, University of Leeds

Acknowledgements

This book is based on research that received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Marie Slodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 814249. Particular thanks to Professor Mark Priestley, Dr Alison Sheldon, Professor Lisa Waddington and Professor Theresia Degener. Thanks also to the University of Leeds Centre for Disability Studies members, in particular, Dr Miro Griffiths, for much needed direction. I am grateful to the staff at the EDF, especially to Catherine Naughton and Loredana Dicsi for welcoming me and providing guidance and support. I am indebted to every activist who provided guidance, interviews, contacts, archives and support for this project. Thank you in particular to Stig Langvad, Erzsébet Földesi and Giampiero Griffo.

Most of all thanks to Mum, Dad and Max. Thank you for everything, always.