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Differential national responses to the European Union's environmental policy have led to the idea that two worlds of environmentalism exist in Europe. In its harsh version, Europe is divided into North and South, with the South suffering from a Mediterranean syndrome. Southern European countries are viewed as environmental laggards, a perception attributed to, among other factors, a weak civil society intertwined with political systems characterized by patronage, clientelism, and lack of respect for public authority. This article provides new evidence documenting that civil society in Greece, Italy, and Spain appears to be much stronger on environmental matters than anticipated by the proponents of the above view. It also offers an alternative theorization of environmental politics, emphasizing aspects of organizational structures and political processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Latin American, South European and, later, the Central and East European democratic transitions have led to a 'revolution' in comparative politics. Instead of the polar notions of democracy and dictatorship, different types of 'transitions' have emerged and democracy has appeared also as a function of the world-system. The paper suggests that there are four scenarios for Central and East European democratic transitions in their international context: (1) Sleeping Beauty (easy westernization); (2) Deepfreeze (return to the past); (3) Latin Americanization (falling back to the Third World); and (4) Fair Weather (Central Europe joins the European integration). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migration is challenging the meaning of residency and citizenship in Southern Europe today. Migrants are contesting the ethnic model of citizenship in Spain, Italy, and Greece by becoming increasingly engaged in social movements to make existence and program claims on the state for residency and citizenship rights. As such, migration processes interfere with the way that migrant social movements can be enacted and sustained and with the potential for successful claim making. The selectivity of migration flows, the migrant networks at origin and destination countries, and the patterns of flows between the home and host countries can affect the stability and continuity of sustained networks of actors involved in social movements and in claim making on the state. This article focuses on the theoretical issues involved in migration flows, network change, and state responses to claim making to explore the potential for sustained changes in the meaning of citizenship in southern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]