The paper debates the role of European civil society, specifically social movements, in the process of (re)constituting democracy within the EU, on the basis of theories about the links between social capital and the creation or cementation of democratic institutions (Putnam, Stolle, Berman and others). Based on empirical evidence gathered for the EUROSPHERE project (www.eurospheres.org), it looks at how a number of European social movements from both old and new member states view the EU and their own possible role in contributing to strengthening European democracy. The paper discusses the various political aims of these civil society actors, as well as their direct or indirect contributions to creating national and/or European identities and a common European public sphere. Building from this evidence, and comparing it with similar information gathered among other types of social actors within the EU (political parties, media and think tanks), the paper proceeds to discuss the potentials and pitfalls of relying on social movements as civil society actors for the creation or reconstitution of democracy within the EU. Particular emphasis will be put on the potentials and pitfalls for the inclusion of minority interests at the transnational European level.
