Networks and spaces. Governance and political space in the European Union

The present volume attempts to critically evaluate claims that modern society may be read and understood as a network. Accepting that this perspective holds some potential, the question becomes how to best capitalize on it. To analyze society as a network means to respond not only to the “actual needs”, but also to highlight the “opportunities” and the “utilities”, and to investigate whether society is increasingly relational or just perceived as such, as e.g. digital “social networks” and related concepts exemplify. The chapter focus on the relationship between the redefinition of the notion of political space and the raise of the network society. Particularly it will focus on the European Union and the governance approach.