What are the practical opportunities and limitations of European civil society cooperation? Which social, economic, cultural and political effects of such cooperation can result? What contributions can civil society make if we understand it as part of a complex network of transcultural relations for dealing with current and future issues?

This book reflects on the development paths and potentials of civil society cooperation in Europe by applying a relational approach. Based on the conceptual works of Josef Wieland and Rupert Graf Strachwitz, it presents the results of a transcultural research group with participants from five European countries, who worked in international teams on different sub-projects and examined the common research interest from various disciplinary and cultural angles. Accordingly, the case studies range from civil society cooperation to establish a truth and reconciliation commission in the Western Balkans, the Black Lives Matter movement and social change in Germany, empowerment of civil society through EU cultural projects, transsectoral data collaboration for the common good and the relationship between NGOs and banks to the role of civil society in tackling group-based misanthropy. This publication combines conceptual approaches with empirical analyses, and thereby seeks to contribute to the debate on the role of civil society cooperation for facing current European challenges and for proactively harnessing the inherent potentials of civil society engagement in Europe.